Synopsis:
A woman starts to have second doubts about her husband after he runs away from an approaching avalanche, leaving her and their two sons behind.
The first release from the newly name-changed Searchlight Pictures is a remake of the 2014 Swedish dark comedy Force Majeure. As in the original, Downhill centers on a family on a ski vacation in the French Alps that experience a near-tragedy that permeates the family and swiftly drives a wedge due to very different reactions. The original movie earned recognition at the Cannes Film Festival and was nominated for Best Foreign Language film at the Golden Globes, but the new American counterpart has a decidedly less rosy future in store.
At the heart of the film we find Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Will Ferrell as Billie and Pete Staunton along with their two boys, Finn and Emerson. Pete is several months removed from the recent loss of his father and has a new determination to live every day to the fullest. While the trip starts out pleasant enough, it is when Pete makes the split-second decision to leave his family during what is possibly a life-threatening avalanche that things quickly unravel. Pete attempts to downplay the whole event as a kooky thing that happened as Billie and the kids are traumatized and internally disgusted by Pete’s cowardice.
Whereas the original Swedish film deftly balances the drama with the dark comedy, Downhill leans more into the comedy to mixed results. The drudging up of marital issues that have been lying dormant is a tricky topic to mine comedy from, but the actors give it their all. Julia Louis-Dreyfus proves to be the real standout of the movie and makes a strong case that she could conquer film just as easily as she has conquered television. The looks of disgust or bewilderment that she gives Ferrell are a thing of beauty. Ferrell is in a more subdued Stranger Than Fiction mode that serves the beta-male character well, but one wishes he had a stronger script to channel his impressive dramatic chops.
Peter mostly avoids attempting to gaslight his wife on what actually transpired during the avalanche and instead tries to salvage not only the trip, but also his marriage and the respect of his children. Both Billie and Peter have sequences where they get to break off from the family and work through their internal issues in differing ways. They can feel what they have built is on the verge of crumbling in their hands, but they are not ready to give up without a fight. The conclusion of their story should prove to an interesting topic of discussion if this movie has not lost you up until this point.
The main issue with this film is it fails to give a good reason why it should exist. As a commentary on marital strife, it lacks the necessary bite to get to the heart of the issue. And for those looking for a good laugh at the newest Will Ferrell movie, please go in an entirely different direction as this is not going to tickle your funny bone and will very likely leave you frustrated. This is an unnecessarily safe movie that takes what worked for arthouse audiences several years ago and makes it less ambiguous for an American audience. The resulting film is something that will at best be passable entertainment for discerning indie audiences and at worst the subject of vitriol from Joe Sixpack.
Directors: Nat Faxon & Jim Rash
Writers: Jesse Armstrong, Nat Faxon & Jim Rash
Rated: R
Runtime: 1h 26m
Rating: 2 out of 5
Dillon is most comfortable sitting around in a theatre all day watching both big budget and independent movies.
