Review of Force Majeure (2014) by Jesse O — 25 Mar 2015

A simple, yet absolutely excellent family drama about a family that is shattered by a seemingly small event that, somehow, proves to Ebba, the mother, that Tomas, the father, isn't a person to be trusted with her or her children's lives.

It's impressive how they get so much out of really very little. In the sense that it starts out as something so small, it's something that happens, and you think you can move on from it, but you don't.

It's like a thorn in your side that somehow keeps getting bigger and bigger until you can't just take it anymore. It's a very intelligent drama in that regard. Not saying that it gets something out of nothing, but it gets a lot out of very little.

It brings up a whole lot of interesting questions about who would do the better job in this same situation, whether the mother or the father. This is a debate that I'm not going to get into because it is absolutely pointless as I'm sure a fair amount of mothers would protect their children first and I'm sure a fair amount of fathers would do the exact same thing.

A man cannot have as much of an emotional bond with his son/daughter as much as the woman, because they carried it in their womb for 9 months. That much is obvious. But the film does tackle these very weighty themes in an intelligent manner, one where you get to see both sides of the equation.

This isn't similar in any way, since it involves your own flesh and blood, but I would never judge anyone who, in a split second decision, chose to focus on their own survival as opposed to helping someone in need.

I think it's easy for a person, looking back on it in hindsight, to say that the one who ran should've done something to help the person in danger. It's very easy because these people are not in the same life and death situation.

Instincts kick in and it's almost like reflexes kick in that you cannot control. Of course it's an entirely different situation when your children are involved, but I can see some similarities.

I completely understand why Ebba reacted the way she did though. Tomas grabbed his phone, that he's attached to for work reasons, and ran away from the avalanche while Harry, his son, called out to him.

So the instinctual need to survive really goes out the window once Tomas grabs his phone and leaves his wife and children behind. I think that's what sticks in Ebba's craw the most. The fact that he had enough willpower to grab his phone before running away.

However, Ebba goes about her anger in the worst way possible, in the sense that, when Tomas asked her if everything was ok and she responded 'yes' and wanted to leave it at that, even though she clearly wasn't fine with what he did.

She chose to tell the story in front of their friends in two separate occasions. Which is a mistake. I doubt she'd have felt much better, but she should've talked with Tomas the moment he asked her if she was fine.

I guess Ebba feels the only way she can talk about it is with someone else, but that's not anybody else's problem but their own. As bad as Tomas' actions were, did he really deserve to be humiliated in front of his friends like that? To the point that they may even see him completely different after finding this out.

While he did grab his phone, I don't honestly think Tomas meant to leave his wife and children behind. It looked bad, yes, but it was fairly involuntary. It was just something that happened that he did unknowingly.

And this isn't a whole spiel of defending him because he's a man, which is such bullshit, it's just that he made a split second decision that he wouldn't have made 9 times out of 10. I would say the same thing if it was Ebba, which is something that we will get to later.

But I digress, I think the film did lose a little steam once it got past its first hour, The movie actually flies by fairly easily, for the most part, but there's parts of the film that I would've cut out.

For example, while Mats' and Fanni's discussion about whether Mats would leave Fanni and their children behind is interesting, showing that Tomas' and Ebba's issues are affecting a good relationship, it was exactly necessary.

It wasn't an essential part of the story enough that you couldn't have cut it out and the film would've been paced better. Again, nothing against the characters of Mats and Fanni, I thought Mats was great, but their entire discussion, while it puts the idea into your head as to who would be better equipped in this situation, isn't necessary.

You already make that point in your mind anyway. So you're overstating the point by having this scene in the final cut. I honestly think it's a moot point because different people have different breaking points.

Because one person, who happens to be a man, found his breaking point to be what seemed to be an avalanche coming at him, does not mean that all men would react the same way. Same thing if it was a woman in the same situation.

It's a pointless debate. Which brings us to the ending, after a scene where, it seems, that Ebba was testing Tomas to see if he would be dedicated to his family after his incident. So the family is leaving the resort by coach.

The driver of the bus is incredibly incompetent at his job to the point that Ebba demands to be let off the bus, but the driver ignores. They were driving on these roads that are really narrow that are next to a mountain, so if they fall off they would all be fucked.

Eventually, this driver fucks up again and scares the shit out of Ebba so, once again, she demands that he stop the bus so she can get off. He finally acquiesces with her request and she immediately gets off the bus as fast as she can.

If you hadn't noticed, she, also, left her children behind when, if the boss driver fucks up and falls off the side of the mountain, everyone inside the bus would die, including her own children. So she essentially did the same thing that she gave Tomas so much shit for throughout the entire film.

While a film is hardly proof of the actions of real-life people, but this movie is closer to reality than most. Like I said, my theory is that different people have different breaking points that would force them to do something that they normally wouldn't do.

But all this is done very subtly, they don't really even make mention of it, none of the characters talk about it or point it out. If you're not paying that much attention to the film, then you wouldn't have even noticed it.

It's really well-done and it's a very appropriate ending to the film. The film actually concludes with, everyone having gotten off the bus, walking down the road. The family is reunited, I guess, hopefully moving on from these situations.

So, yea, I thought this movie was great. It's got some scenes that should've been cut out, but it is an excellent film with an interesting story and some thought-provoking discussions. It's not a perfect film, but it's pretty great.

I'd recommend it.