Review of Force Majeure (2014) by Glenn G — 17 Dec 2014

STANLEY KUBRICK NO LONGER HAS TO ROLL OVER IN HIS GRAVE - My Review of FORCE MAJEURE (4 1/2 Stars).

The terms Kubrickian or Hitchcockian have been used (or overused) so many times to describe other filmmakers, that they've lost their meaning. One need only make a chilly or suspenseful film and the lazy comparisons are made. Imitators to Stanley Kubrick's throne typically employ perfectly composed frames, slow tracking shots and a generally clean aesthetic to earn their mentions. What's often missing is the scarily objective view of human behavior. Famous for shooting endless takes of any given scene, Kubrick wanted to find the truth in awkward silences or squirm-inducing situations, to chip away at and needle his actors until they bared a pure soul.

Ruben Ostlund is that rare writer-director who is the closest I've seen to truly understanding and earning the Kubrick comparisons with his Swedish psychodrama, FORCE MAJEURE. It's easily one of the year's best films, rightly earning its Golden Globe nomination and Un Certain Regard Award at the Cannes Film Festival.

The setup is simple. A husband, wife and their two young children take a ski holiday in the French Alps. During lunch on a balcony overlooking the mountain, they witness a controlled avalanche, which unexpectedly takes a turn for the worse. Their reactions to and interpretations of the situation create a rift between husband and wife, providing the central drama for the rest of the film. Stunningly shot by cinematographer Fredrik Wenzel and featuring raw, courageous performances by its two leads, Johannes Kuhnke and Lisa Loven Kongsli, FORCE MAJEURE is a sly comedy and a picture perfect lesson in how to make audiences deliciously uncomfortable.

Every frame of this film exists for a reason. There's such wonderful tension in images of our characters on ski lifts, the ominous sounds of the machinery heightening the tension. Shots around the lodge, whether static or gliding, echo THE SHINING, whereas the classical music stings reminded me of A CLOCKWORK ORANGE. All of this would reek of homage, but Ostlund is after more. He wants to mine the motivations behind primal human behavior. In Kuhnke's character, he explores the male ego and the pressure men feel to be providers, often creating an illusion of safety for their loved ones while crumbling inside. In Kongsli, he has a riveting actor who slowly but surely realizes that her husband's actions were not ok. Unwilling to let things drop, she looks for opportunities in any and every situation, whether alone with her husband or in the company of friends. It makes for some splendid, searing drama.

Scene after scene offers great surprises, whether it's the intrusion of an inanimate object to ratchet up the tension, or a casual insult from strangers. Every situation drips with feelings of dread. Skiing down a slope or traversing a mountain pass in a bus are fraught with danger. At stake here is the fragility of life and how split decisions have a profound impact on it. Kongsli's character is no saint. She makes as many mistakes as her husband in this story, and yet Ostlund leaves any judgment up to us. He's kind and fair to his characters, especially in a devastating scene in which all of the pent-up emotions surface. A peculiar scene at an all-male rave seems arbitrary until one realizes that human instinct, especially among men, is being examined from as many sides as possible.

There's a climactic scene where I was hoping against hope the movie would not end. It felt too cheery and neat. Luckily Ostlund is talented and smart enough to know where he's headed. Later, when things later get more tense, more revealing, and more ambiguous, we, the audience, who hopefully will embrace this funny, dark, nuanced and brave film, are all the luckier.