Force Majeure Review

A film with chills and thrills accompanied by a fresh air of humour 

Force Majeure: a term designated to someone who, due to unforeseeable circumstances, is unable to fulfil a contract. It can also be defined as an irresistible compulsion or from its translation, a superior strength.

All of these interpretations are intrinsic to this fascinating, yet rather unnerving drama/comedy from Swedish director Ruben Östlund, which focuses on a family holidaying in the French Alps. On the surface, they exude a conventional and relatable dynamic; however, the frost soon bites when an avalanche disrupts their vacation, inciting pain and suffering, without actually hitting anybody.

The family of four consists of lead characters, Tomas (Johannes Kuhnke) and Ebba (Lisa Loven Kongsli), as well as their two young children, Harry and Vera, whose roles primarily involve inhabiting the habitual child-on-a-holiday stereotype; wake-up, complain, brief excitement quelled by ennui, complain louder, go to bed. From the outset, intrusive, lingering camera shots, as well as the recurring explosion of Vivaldi’s Summer Concerto, appear to presage an impending incident. This, of course, transpires to be the avalanche. Tomas, Ebba and their offspring witness this natural occurrence from a restaurant terrace, yet as the initially ‘controlled’ deluge of snow rages towards them, a moment of impulse drives Tomas away from his loved ones. This establishes the film’s conflict and unstitches domestic wounds that proceed to bleed uncontrollably.

The motive of Force Majeure is to trip up a husband a wife on a ski trip, yet more acutely it is to expose the minutiae of psychological issues buzzing in and around a partnership, skewed by Tomas’s irresistible compulsion. Neither Tomas nor Ebba can agree on the former’s reaction to the avalanche, thus their marriage is affected by this, triggering alterations and altercations in their interpersonal behaviour. Sounds serious? I assure you, Force Majeure is a tour-de-force with flashes of farce. Awkward, cringe-worthy comedy defrosts the tension, an example being a twenty-something party-goer informing Tomas that her friend thinks he is the best looking man in sight, then reappearing moments later to update him that she got him confused with someone else. This is where Östlund’s film strides towards its peak. It is at its most comfortable in its uncomfortable stages.

Force Majeure did wonders domestically, clearing up at the Swedish Oscars (the Guldbagge Awards), and it has been embraced by critics and audiences alike. It is an invasively observed tale that pries into a marriage and gleefully deconstructs a man’s masculinity. We are essentially the nosy neighbours to this.