150 Word Review: 'Force Majeure' (2014)
Snow business
The title refers to an "act of God" clause in a contract that absolves all parties of blame. But there's plenty of fault in Force Majeure, an ice-cold comedy about gender norms high in the French Alps.
While on holiday, a giant cloud of powder from an unexpected avalanche swallows a family enjoying lunch on the balcony of a luxury ski resort. This triggers something primal in the father, who grabs his phone and skedaddles, abandoning his family. Johannes Bah Kuhnke's Thomas crumbles afterward: aren't men supposed to be protectors? His wife, Ebba, played by Lisa Loven Kongsli, is also shaken. Is her husband a coward? Even the kids wonder if Dad's a wuss. Writer/director Ruben Östlund has cruel fun exploring these questions.
Force Majeure also features the cinema's second most sinister winter wonderland after the Overlook Hotel. The fancy lodge is haunted by service workers watching the well-off meltdown.
They should have gone to Disney World instead.
She over reacted. He just should have admitted his survival mode took over.
One star rating because it was so boring.