For unheard of privileges and a months long stay of execution, the Sonderkammando unit at Auschwitz calms the new arrivals before the gassings, cleans the death chambers, and loads the bodies into the furnaces. As a revolt is planned in several of the facilities, female inmates are tortured and killed while many of the men question their role and what they would do to stay alive. Tim Blake Nelson's grim, unrelenting, and oppressive The Grey Zone is a potent, talky drama which boasts excellent performances (including Harvey Keitel, Allan Corduner, and Steve Buscemi) and was unsurprisingly based on the director's own play which in turn was based on an account from survivor Dr. Miklos Nyiszli.
*** 1/2 out of ****
