During this recent awards season, as Parasite began making its sweep toward its eventual unprecedented Best Picture win at the Oscars, there was some discussions around the internet about how open American moviegoers are to watching foreign films, and the hurdle of the “one inch barrier,” referring to subtitles. For one reason or another, many general people struggle with subtitles, which often lead to a limited cinematic palate. More often exposure to foreign stories come in the form of English language remakes, which comes with its own set of challenges for any filmmaker. Sometimes a film like Infernal Affairs can be reshaped into a film as distinctly American as The Departed, but then there are less than inspired efforts like the baffling 2013 Oldboy.
Downhill is a remake of Ruben Östlund’s 2014 Swedish film, Force Majeure. This project is helmed by writer/director duo, Nat Faxon and Jim Rash, who are best known for co-writing The Descendants, and their directorial debut, The Way, Way Back, and working in collaboration with co-writer, Jesse Armstrong. Not straying too far from the original story, the film follows the awkward fallout and marital reevaluation that occurs when Pete (Will Ferrell) runs away from his wife, Billie (Julia Louis-Dreyfus), and two sons (Julian Grey and Ammon Jacob Ford) at the sight of an oncoming avalanche at their ski resort, which turns out to be nothing more than a false alarm.
For anyone worried that the film would carry the same irreverent tone of countless Will Ferrell vehicles, I am pleased to say that Downhill largely carries over the understated, uncomfortable, cringe-inducing humor that defined Force Majeure. Farrell and Louis-Dreyfus are both seasoned performers, both easily capable of delivering the kind of humor that the material calls for. Sure, some of the strokes of it play more broadly than the original, but without getting too much into comparing-and-contrasting, Downhill captures the essence of the original better than one would expect.
Thematically, the film does feel a bit light. It touches on ideas of growing old, modern gender dynamics, and how communication – or the lack thereof – can affect a relationship. It doesn’t dive quite as deep and as sharply as I think it could have. I believe the filmmakers are capable of pulling it off, and the actors clearly game to do it. However, the film being noticeably half an hour shorter than it’s foreign counterpart prevents the filmmakers from really getting into the darker nooks and crannies of its themes that the original was more than willing to dig into.
Ferrell and Louis-Dreyfus are really the two driving forces of this film, and they keep the proceedings engaging, even when it’s at its most painfully familiar. Ferrell captures a quiet desperation that utilizes his usual man-child schtick into something more mature and self-reflective. Louis-Dreyfus brings a lot of sensitivity to the understandable rage and confusion that her character is forced to deal with, leading to a number of moments where she juggles varying emotions that burst through the surface. She is truly wonderful in this, and it makes you wish she could appear in more films. Supporting players like Zach Woods, Zoë Chao, and Miranda Otto also get moments to shine, mostly as a way to inject humor in between the cringey confrontations between Pete and Billie. Plus, there is a delightful cameo appearance from Kristofer Hivju, who played the Zach Woods role in the original film.
Downhill is a perfectly serviceable film, but you can see where it could have been better if the filmmakers were willing to take their time with these characters and the story. It falls into a weird limbo where it’s not great enough to recommend to most people, who likely haven’t seen the original, and also not as distinct enough to recommend to those who already have. But at the end of the day, it works, and it works because Force Majeure works, and Faxon and Rash clearly have a solid grasp of why that film resonated with so many people. Downhill takes all the recognizable elements and ideas behind Force Majeure and distills it into a clean, 90 minute package that doesn’t overstay its welcome. It’s fine, and there are some good performances from our leads, but you are ultimately better off watching the original.