A moment of narcissism leads to an uncomfortable family vacation.
Directed by: Ruben Ostlund
Starring: Johannes Kuhnke, Lisa Loven Kongsli, Clara Wettergren, Vincent
Wettergren, Kristofer Hivju
If you've ever holidayed in Europe, or indeed if you happen to live in a
location popular with tourists, you'll have encountered those model
Scandinavian families, all perfect bone structure, beautiful children and
expensive rainwear (the latter often in spite, rather than because of the
climate). Swedish writer-director Ruben Ostlund, whose nihilistic
outlook on life makes Michael Haneke's work seem positively Spielbergian,
gives us one such family in Force Majeure, peeling away the layers of their seemingly charmed existence like a
freckled tyke plucking the wings off a captured butterfly.
Thirtysomethings Tomas (Stephen Dorff lookalike Johannes Kuhnke) and
Ebba (Michelle Forbes lookalike Lisa Loven Kongsli) arrive in the
French Alps for a week long skiing holiday with their young sprogs Vera and
Harry. All goes well, as you suspect it always has for this particular
family, until the second day when, during breakfast at an outdoor
restaurant, a distant avalanche appears. At first Tomas insists everything
is fine - "It's a controlled avalanche!" - and begins filming the event with
his phone. As the white cloud grows larger and begins to make its way
towards the restaurant, panic sets in and Tomas runs for his life, leaving
his family behind. Luckily for them, it was a controlled avalanche, and no
harm was done. Unluckily for Tomas, he's forced to spend the next six days
in the company of Ebba, who is none too happy with his reaction in time of
crisis.
The setup of Ostlund's film sounds like a lost episode of
Curb Your Enthusiasm, but there's one key distinction. In that show, Larry David's screen
persona is essentially a narcissist, one well equipped to deal with such
situations. Tomas, however, is, despite his moment of cowardice, a genuinely
good guy torn apart by his own actions as much as by his wife's increasingly
cold shoulders. Initially he attempts to make light of the situation,
passing it off as a case of differing perspectives, but lacking David's
disarming natural wit, this only drives Ebba further away from him, and it's
not long before her passive aggression becomes decidedly less passive.
Compared to his previous features - Involuntary and Play - Force Majeure represents a move towards the mainstream for Ostlund. The distancing
technique of a static camera previously employed by Ostlund, - which
resembled a Tom & Jerry cartoon, so often were characters viewed from the waist down - is for
the most part dropped here in favour of more conventional setups. Where his
previous dramas felt like a human safari expedition,
Force Majeure is a visit to a petting zoo, putting the tortured face of Tomas front
and centre.
Delivering an avalanche of cringe-comedy, Ostlund packs many twisted
laughs into his uncomfortable drama. His film differs from standard comedies
in that none of its characters are funny in themselves; it's the situation
that's amusing. Force Majeure is a sitcom in its purest form, albeit one of a decidedly dark
nature. Its landscape may be white, but its humour is black as night.
Force Majeure is on MUBI UK
now.
