A Movie Review: Downhill vs. Force Majeure

When watching Force Majeure and its recent remake Downhill, I did not expect to find so much discord in the space between them. Nor did I expect these questions to linger uncomfortably.

Both the independent Swedish-French-Norwegian Force Majeure (2014) and the American remake Downhill (2020) follow the trajectory of a “perfect” family on a ski holiday in the Alps that goes sour after a frightening encounter with a controlled avalanche.

Though they share the same plotline, Force Majeure is a depth charge whereas Downhill is a surface-to-air missile; one detonates deep down and devastation steadily rises to the surface, the other follows a prescribed trajectory well above ground.

In Downhill, Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Will Ferrell do their best to save their characters (husband and wife Billie and Pete) from the sinkhole of one-dimensional stereotypes. The same can be said for Zach Woods and Zoe Chao who, as Zach and Rosie, are reluctant observers of the emotional fallout. They each succeed in moments, but the movie falls flat between caricatures of Americans and Europeans, and the shallow, Disney-like formula.

The original Force Majeure is a unique study in discomfort. Actors Lisa Loven Kongsli and Johannes Kuhnke play married couple Ebba and Tomas with such depth that lines between drama and comedy are often blurred. Kristofer Hivju and Fanni Metelius help us navigate these waters as Mats and Fanny, witnesses to Tomas and Ebba’s marital discord. 

Between the brilliant slow burn of the original and the trope-heavy remake are some bigger questions; why does the U.S. remake great foreign films to suit “American” tastes, often destroying what was great about those films in the process? What is “American” taste, and it is organic or prescribed? In most things, payoff requires patience. My recommendation: invest in Force Majeure. It’s worth it.

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Contributor

Kate Ryan Brewer is a filmmaker and writer based in Omaha, NE.