Force Majeure

Starring: Johannes Kuhnke, Lisa Loven Kongsli, Clara Wettergren, Vincent Wettergren, Kristofer Hivju
Directed by: Ruben Ostlund
Rating: R
Genre: Comedy, Drama
2014

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: An avalanche threatens to tear a family apart as they reflect on their reactions to it.

Review:

Tim: Force Majeure is an interesting Sweden-France-Norway film that takes a sobering look at how one dangerous event starts to break down a fractured family. It's a slow, meditative look at this family vacationing in the Alps. The film has some interesting moments, but it's also a sluggish movie that ultimately doesn't hit enough right notes. I know it received a lot of acclaim, but I can't say I was the biggest fan.

The premise of the movie is incredible. This family of four is on a ski vacation in the Alps- mom, dad, son, daughter, son. While having lunch, they see this enormous avalanche rolling down the mountain. It turns right toward them, everyone panics. The father grabs his cell phone and runs away, leaving his family. The avalanche stops before causing any damage or harm. What happens in that one moment changes everything for the family. The wife cannot let go of the fact that her husband abandoned their family. The husband/father seems to be in deniable about what he did. It causes a deep rift in the family and the movie explores the aftermath of this event, how they process it, how it causes them to rethink their beliefs about each other. That's amazing and I loved the brilliance behind the idea.

Here's the problem- the movie is agonizingly slow. This isn't a "dumb" American complaining about an International film- I've seen my fair share of international films and I recognize they often have a different pace to the frenetic American productions. I get that. It's just that this film camps on moments far too long. I don't know how many shots we got of the outside of their hotel room, where the husband, or the husband and wife are just standing. Ruben Ostlund lingers on so many shots, far past the point when it's time to move on. Besides often being a bit dull, this tendency to elongate each scene means that we don't get to dig deeply enough into these characters. This is a 2 hour movie and it feels longer. Had Ostlund been able to move quicker, he could have easily added additional scenes, or he could have wrapped things 10-12 minutes sooner. This movie would have benefited from just a bit more momentum.

Johannes Kuhnke was quite strong in the lead role of Tomas. His performance is quiet and nuanced, but he conveys so much with his face. It was impressive that he was able to do so much with a generally stoic performance. He does get a few scenes to really dig in and those are some of the better ones in the film. I really enjoyed Lisa Loven Kongsli as well. It felt like she got more opportunities than Kuhnke to display her talent. She was quite believable in the role. I enjoyed how Kongsli and Kuhnke interacted. They felt like an authentic long-married couple. The supporting cast is good. I have to give a special shout out to Kristofer Hivju. Like many people, I was a huge fan of his performance on "Game of Thrones". It was terrific to see him here in a very different role. He's a good actor. His role as a family friend felt important and he added to the movie.

This film does create some truly awkward, cringe-worthy moments. The scene at dinner where Ebba first confronts Tomas with his actions (in front of other people, no less) is especially hard to watch. It was a surprising scene. I tried to imagine how I would react in that circumstance and I truly have no idea. Ostlund deserves credit for creating such an uncomfortable scene. Another great scene is the other confrontation scene, this time in the hotel room. It's also quite uncomfortable. Hivju was fantastic in this scene. I can still see the look on his face, his feeble explanations. He made that scene so great.

As a whole, I'm really glad I watched Force Majeure. It's a thought provoking film. However, it wasn't very entertaining. I never cared about any of the characters, so it was mostly unpleasant watching them fall apart. The movie had great moments, but as a whole, was far too plodding. Those great moments are incredible, but the film as a whole is only decent.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating- 6.5


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