A Phantom in the Modern Spy World
Releasing The Gray Man in 2022 surely took more than the usual effort because, in addition to the expected cinematic value, the spy movie promised Netflix’s biggest budget, the Russo brothers’ track record on blockbusters, and franchise potential thanks to the numerous stars in the cast. However, in addition to the expected cinematic value, the movie had an intimate story to tell: about men who, without the nobility of patriotism, work in the shadows, marked by survival, betrayal, and broken humanity.
There were two opposites at the center of the film: an assassin who tries to retain a sliver of morality, Sierra Six, played by Ryan Gosling, and Lloyd Hansen, a sadist, personified by Chris Evans. However, there was more to the movie than the physical aspect of their duel. It was a clash of two archetypes, each embodying deeper truths of loyalty, corruption, and identity.
Sierra Six: Silence as a Weapon
Ryan Gosling’s Sierra Six is built around contradiction. He is an elite CIA operative capable of efficient violence. He draws upon a cold reserve of rage to wreak havoc. Yet beneath the hardened exterior is a killer’s silent code of morality that differentiates him from the soulless automata around him. Six is a man of few words. When he does speak, the silence is of someone tortured by what he has seen and done.
For Gosling, the role played to his strengths. He is used to characters who communicate more through presence than through dialogue (Drive, Blade Runner 2049). He described Six as “a ghost — someone who exists everywhere but belongs nowhere.” The parallel wasn’t accidental. Soldiers and covert operatives in real life often return to societies that feel alien to them.
Even Gosling himself drew on personal experience. He likened Six’s isolation to the way fame sometimes forces him into the role of an observer. “There’s a part of him that wants a normal life,” he admitted, “but he knows he’ll never have it.” That emotion gave audiences a reason to root for Six, a target, beyond the bullets.
A Redemption Arc Without Glory
For Six, the mission is not one of conquest or of ego, but one of protection across Bangkok, Vienna, and Prague. Giving narrative significance to his bond with his mentor’s niece, Claire (Julia Butters), serves to humanize him. His violence is not merely duty, but the passionate effort to defend against the bankruptcy of innocence.
This particular arc draws upon all the most ancient and universal cultural motifs of the lone figure battling for the defense of the innocent and the unforgiving warrior for the restorative power of loyalty. Here, mythological reverence like Ram, and his line, was contrasted for ‘giving’ for pain and sorrow thick and heavy. While the genre rests on confident bravado, it was the quiet sorrowful guardianship of Six that struck home.
Lloyd Hansen: Evil with a Smile
While Six is the phantom, Lloyd Hansen is the storm. Chris Evans’ transformation to defend a far darker persona was one of the phenomena of audience adaptation. Gone was the noble-hearted persona of Captain America, and a faintly evil, sadistic, willfully depraved Lloyd with a mustache and contrasted designer polos took his place. He is a dangerous, cruel, and sadistic tormentor to Six, and toying with a cruelty most men would put to bed.After years of playing the ‘good guy,’ Evans stated that the role of Lloyd was ‘liberating.’ To prepare for the role, Evans studied sociopathy and behavioral psychology, which allowed him to add more layers of unpredictability to Lloyd’s fractious energy. Lloyd’s violence was chilling, surprising, and intimately recognizable. He was this charming sociopath, able to dominate a room, and later, shed the mask to reveal the monster inside.
No performance had rattled pop culture expectations like Evans’ portrayal of Lloyd. He was, and still is, the walking embodiment of memes and a man of chaotic and unmitigated privilege.
The film’s defining characteristics include sleeve Gosling’s choreography to fight and weapon use. Gosling’s training was aimed at achieving an ‘efficient’ and ‘precise’ execution of all Six’s combat moves, loops and strikes, and the execution of each combat module as a whole was to create an illusion of muscle memory.
While Gosling and Evans engage as combatants, Evans’s improvisation and unscripted dialogue of Lloyd’s role, which ordered scenes of chaotic disruption to construct a manic energy, was allowed to remain in the final cut. The Russo brothers designed the sequence to exploit the psychological and physical combat duality.
The Hype, the Reactions, the Meme Storm
Prior to its release, The Gray Man was highly anticipated. Netflix marketed the film as a blockbuster that could compete with theatrical releases, especially considering the Russo brothers’ Avengers: Endgame success, as well as Gosling’s return to action after a long break.
Public sentiment was positive, to a degree. The spectacle was entertaining, even if the plot was unoriginal. The film provided sufficient action to hold audiences’ attention. Once released, the film sparked a meme frenzy on Twitter. Evans’ mustache was the center of attention, Gosling’s unruffled demeanor offered a meme format, and Armas’ CIA agent was analyzed for style. In the end, The Gray Man became a social phenomenon, to the point where it was almost impossible to ignore it, regardless of one’s opinion on the film.
Beyond the Noise: Human Truths
What set The Gray Man apart from other spy thrillers was the spectacle. The high point of Gosling’s performance was the fatherly instinct toward Claire, and the portrayal of Six was a vehicle to channel the protectiveness of a father. For Evans, Lloyd was a vehicle to escape the typecast of clean roles and explore the dark and imperfect side of a character.
The samurai traditions that inspired the Russo brothers fueled the vision for their modern samurai warriors. Wielding their samurai swords in silence and honoring their personal codes, warriors embodied the archetype. This mythic story structure reinforced the message long after the film’s action sequences were completed.
Ghost and Storm: A Duel That Endures.
The Gray Man’s multiple dimensions made it more enjoyable. The rivalry between Six and Lloyd was more than surface narrative for a spy film; it was the duel between opposing abstractions: silence and chaos, morality and corruption, the ghost and the storm.
Some viewers may have found the film mainstream, but for many it was an endless thrill ride. This was in large part due to the compelling presence of Gosling’s depiction of the troubled Six and Evams’ portrayal of the mad Lloyd. This contributed to, and explains, the continued dialogue around The Gray Man long after the film was released.
The spectacle was not the only reason for the film’s huge success. The action sequences were a backdrop for a commentary on the strange truths that reveal humanity.
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