‘The Gray Man‘ stars Ryan Gosling as Sierra Six, an ex-CIA operative on the run with some dangerous information in his possession. Chris Evans plays the bad guy, Lloyd Hansen, tasked with tracking him down. Hansen decides to go after people Six cares about – that is Fitzroy, Six’s recruiter who is like a father figure. To get to the retired CIA handler, Hansen kidnaps Fitzroy’s niece, Claire, who we learn shares a bond with Six from the time he was assigned to guarding the young girl. 

During his time with Claire, Julia Butters’ character asks him about a tattoo on his right hand. Six explains that it is the name of a man in Greek. 

When pressed about who the man is, the assassin continues that he is a man who was tasked with pushing a rock up a hill. He also muses that the man probably didn’t like the task, but was compelled to do it. 

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This refers to the myth of Sisyphus, who was punished by Zeus and had to push a rock up a mountain. However, every time he rested the rock would roll down, which meant that Sisyphus’ task was never complete. The process of eternal work without an end in sight led French philosopher Albert Camus to comment “one must imagine Sisyphus happy”, implying that the struggle to reach heights must be seen as fulfiling to humankind. 

Considering Sierra Six’s life of fighting bad guys, and the seemingly never-ending struggle during his time as a CIA asset, the tattoo is telling. While the Russo brothers do not directly equate Six with Sisyphus, it is clear that Gosling’s character relates to the struggle. 

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Even as he’s walking away from Butters’ Claire Fitzroy, she asks him whether Sisyphus ever makes it to the top of the mountain. Six smiles and replies he’ll let her know, implying he’s not reached the end of his personal struggle yet, either.