When a coordinated avalanche at a ski resort seems to spiral out of control, a family’s survival instinct kicks in. Ebba (Lisa Loven Kongsli), the family’s matriarch, rushes to her children and protects them from potential harm. When the snow particles settle, Ebba’s husband Tomas (Johannes Kuhnke) is, however, nowhere to be found. While Ebba’s instincts were to protect her children, Tomas acted on pure selfish impulse and ran to safety. Now, only halfway through their vacation, the family must try and keep it together despite Tomas’ action. What follows is an escalating series of passive aggressive advancements that begins to tear at the family’s seams.
Without resorting to any punch lines, Force Majeure could still be described as one of the year’s funniest comedies. The film doesn’t derive humor from meticulous setups, but by probing the most uncomfortable of human conditions. As the family further deconstructs, director Ruben Östlund keeps the camera rolling. He is relentless with the construction of his scenes. We are often forced to observe the family at a distance, cuts are sparse, and scene durations are often longer than would be expected. While under the supervision of another less confident director these tendencies might take away from the viewing experience, but Östlund uses them to transform the morbid into the absurd.
Force Majeure is primarily concerned with dissecting social roles, revealing the fragility of human confidence and identity. When Tomas’ actions undermine his family’s—and perhaps his own—opinion of his role as provider and protector, his confidence is shattered. The film’s most astute critique is leveled at machismo. Masculinity is revealed to be a thinly veiled overcompensation, which conceals a delicacy at its core. Force Majeure is thus at its best when it is chastising its male characters. In return, the film parades woman as the smarter and stronger constituent of the familial unit.
However, almost everything that the film seems to be building up to is thrust away in the film’s final act. Without spoiling anything, it can be said that there is a moment in the film where it reaches its absolute climax; a satirical picture-perfect conclusion where all the elements come to fruition. To the film’s dismay, Östlund strangely does not choose to end the film here, but rather continues on to include one last moment of conflict for the family. The perplexing resolve in this final climatic moment works to unravel what could have otherwise been a perceptive and satirical comment on gender politics and familial roles. Left in its place is an entertaining, yet nevertheless indecisive, film.
In spite of the film’s excessive, reductive conclusion, Force Majeure is certainly worthy the praise it has received since its premiere at Cannes. Awkward, absurd, sincere, and humorous, the film is able oscillate between varying emotional registers with ease. Flawed as it may be, Force Majeure’s alternative to comedic conventions still reveals the film to be one of 2014’s must watch releases.
