Downhill: An Avalanche Of Disappointment
Actors turned writer/directors Nat Faxon & Jim Rash (The Way Way Back) bring Ruben Östlund’s 2014 Swedish masterpiece, Force Majeure, to American audiences this Valentine’s Day with Downhill. Fronted by Will Ferrell and Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Faxon and Rash turn Östlund’s thought-provoking drama with darkly comedic elements into an out-and-out comedy that bumbles its way across the finish line.
Barely escaping an avalanche during a family ski vacation in the Alps, married couple Billie (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) and Pete (Will Ferrell) are thrown into disarray as they are forced to reevaluate their lives and how they feel about each other.
Downhill starts off promising enough — and by that we mean very similar to Östlund’s original, which, for our money, you can’t really improve on — but it very quickly — and very frequently — drops the ball, Americanizing the material until it loses most of its spark and becomes wholly unrecognizable. Almost entirely eschewing the smooth, focused restraint of Östlund’s initial direction in favor of loose handheld, Faxon & Rash make it clear that you’re in for a bumpy ride. Downhill squeezes the two-hour Force Majeure into an uninspired 86-minute tumble that keeps “french frying” when it should be “pizzaing”.
Completely replacing drama with lowbrow comedy, Downhill abandons the nuance of the original, its trajectory and acute examination of gender expectations, and comes across like a blatant holiday cash grab. The film only seems interested in using Östlund’s unique premise as a very loose framing device, content to ski along on the surface without probing deeper into its central dilemma. It’s twisted into something too American; it’s loud, obnoxious, frustrating, hollow, and overloaded with quirk in place of sincerity.
Force Majeure uses its location (a ski lodge) and its catalyst (a horrifyingly hilarious incident with a controlled avalanche) as a subtle metaphor for how humankind wants to control the uncontrollable and overwrite their instinctual nature in situations where that just isn’t an option. It uses how a father reacts to a potentially life-threatening event with his family as a springboard to explore the fragility of masculinity and marriage/relationships when certain gender expectations aren’t met, twisting the archetypical father as hero figure into something more delicate, complex, and altogether new. While Downhill uses Force Majeure’s epic avalanche scene, it’s not so much an inciting incident as it is just another unsubtle example of Will Ferrell’s Pete not being there for his family. He’s checked out before the avalanche even begins to slide, too clouded by work and connected to his phone on a vacation that’s supposed to be all about family — which we later learn was provoked by the death of Pete’s father, something that is an addition to the original and isn’t explored or utilized to any meaningful effect.
Downhill wrestles with a lot — the struggle to be totally present and not selfishly live in the moment, how couples come back from difficult and sometimes traumatic events together, how the ways of our parents manifest into our own parenting, etc — but none of it is effectively explored or fleshed out enough for any of it to ring true. In its quest to ski a different course than its superior predecessor, it gets totally lost along the way, lacking in intention, focus, and clarity. Any of its quiet successes are completely undercut by its eye-rolling 2nd act (where Julia Louis-Dreyfus’ Billie has a solo ski day that takes a 180 from the original for no real reason) and baffling conclusion that’s less about Pete reclaiming his place in the family and more about an extremely forced moment of female empowerment.
Ironically, the US/European culture divide seems to be the most examined element here, which shines through in a number of ways but, namely, through Miranda Otto’s character, Charlotte, a caricature of the typical sexually liberated European filtered through a very American lens. (It’s Charlotte that propels the plot into eye-rolling territory in its second act). What makes this, perhaps, the most amusing part of the whole film is in how it becomes emblematic of the major differences between European and American cinemagoers; one prefers craft and contemplation, and the other prefers momentarily amusing slop — we’ll let you decide which is which.
With only the husk of Force Majeure intact, Downhill races to its finish with wobbly legs, leaving behind something light and ultimately disposable. To the film’s credit, it occasionally finds the squirmy awkwardness of its predecessor — it even finds a way to somehow make it more awkward (replacing the video evidence from Force Majeure with children) — and can be counted on for some laughs — most of which come from supporting performances, like Zach Woods or Kristofer Hivju (who played Zach Woods’ role in the original) — but it doesn’t have anywhere near the impact or artistry of Östlund’s film. Those with fresh eyes may find something to love, but if you’re a fan of the original, you’ll be disappointed by its squandered potential and lack of satisfying resolve.
Recommendation: Unless you’re looking for a bunny hill to slalom, we’d steer yah over toward the real deal, Force Majeure.
Rating: 2 controlled avalanches outta 5.
Learn more about Force Majeure below:
Five Fun Facts About Force Majeure: https://www.viddy-well.com/top-5/fun-facts-about-force-majeure
What do you think? We want to know. Share your thoughts and feelings in the comments section below, and as always, remember to viddy well!