Force Majeure (2014) **

 

What is it that makes a man a man? What do our instinctive reactions to danger say about who we really are? How can a relationship survive a betrayal? These are the questions explored in “Force Majeure,” written and directed by Swedish filmmaker Ruben Ostlund.

Tomas (Johannes Kuhnke) and his family are skiing in the Alps. When an avalanche narrowly misses them, Tomas runs to save his own skin, leaving his wife, Ebba (Lis Loven Kongsli) to protect the children. The event eats at everyone involved, and they have to work out their feelings about it over the rest of the vacation.

I really wanted to like “Force Majeure.” It's an excellent concept, and Lis Loven Kongsli does some great acting. The movie also features Kristofer Hivju, who played Tormund Giantsbane on “Game of Thrones.” Unfortunately, the thing is just a drag. Tomas is too unlikable a character to identify with, so it's very hard to root for his transformation. The film does feature some humor, as when a girl approaches Tomas and Mats (Kristofer Hivju) at an outdoor bar to tell them that her friend said they are the hottest guys there, only to return a minute later to say that she had it wrong; her friend was pointing at two other guys. There are a lot of scenes here that had real potential, such as Ebba's conversation with a woman who is in an open marriage, or Mats's all-night fight with his girlfriend. The problem is that all the scenes drag on much longer than necessary, and many of them don't really propel the story. Even the ending seemed out of place, like a completely separate story tacked onto the end, not illuminating, much less resolving, the story.

2 stars out of 5