Downhill

The Staunton's have travelled across the Atlantic for a skiing holiday to help Pete (Will Ferrell), the father of Finn & Emerson and the husband of Billie (Julia Louis-Dreyfus), to climb out of the funk he's been in since the death of his father 8 months beforehand. The party resort isn't what the reserved Staunton's had expected which isn't helping the tension between husband and wife but they're staying smiling for the sake of the kids. What also doesn't help is Pete's extremely selfish reaction to a resort safety event, a reaction that has Billie reassessing everything she thought she knew about her husband.

When I go to see a film that's a remake I always try to look at it as a separate entity but it's a pretty hard thing to do, especially when the original is the superior watch. Downhill is the U.S. remake of the 2014 Swedish movie Force Majeure and while it has it's moments it never escapes the shadow of what came first. It's far less nuanced, less ambiguous and broader in it's moments of humour. For a remake to succeed it has to bring something new to the table, that little bit of je ne sais quoi that gives it a reason for being and try as Will Ferrell and Julia Louis-Dreyfus might there's very little reason for this film to exist. The story was told perfectly the first time around. And there, I'm doing what I said I wouldn't do so let's talk about what works.

JLD, she's what works. A magnificent comedienne best known for her work on Seinfeld and Veep. Here she's called on to do some genuine dramatic lifting and she lives up to the challenge admirably. Her face a battle of contained emotions from the aftermath of what a belittling Pete calls "the event" until the jawdropping moment when everything spills out. Her rage, her disappointment, her annoyance at being the only grown up in their marriage, her sadness at words she knows will change her relationship forever. It's a scene you'll watch from between your fingers, preferably from behind your chair. It's cringe at it's best and without a doubt the highlight of the film. Aside from a very funny masturbation joke and it's aftermath. After seeing this you'll be very careful about where you do your funny business.

As co-lead Will Ferrell is as restrained as I've ever seen him which is always a good thing as like many modern day comedic actors he tends to play with the same tics and schtick over and over again. But he's so restrained in fact that you'll wonder exactly why he's in the film because unlike Julia he really brings nothing new to the film at all. He's left in the shadow of his co-lead and the supporting cast too. Miranda Otto might be playing a very euro-trashy cliche but at least she's memorable even if she does vanish without a trace halfway through the running time. Kristofer Hivju who played quite a big part in the original turns up too as no nonsense resort manager who only serves to remind you once again that the original was better. Epic beard though. Epic beard.

American remakes of European films tend to soften the edges to make them more palatable for domestic audiences but here director Nat Faxon and writers Jesse Armstrong & Jim Rash have gone way over board. All the shades of grey are gone, the cutting moments blunted, ambiguities all neatly straightened out. Which is surprising from Armstrong, currently a critical darling after creating Succession, a HBO comedy drama about familial conflict that would skin you alive with it's viciousness. Had he put a little more of that venom into this it might have been a remake that stood up to and maybe even towered over it's predecessor. As it is it will be forgotten in a month's time.

Worth seeing if you're a Julia Louis-Dreyfus completist or maybe if you haven't seen the original. Other than that....meh. In cinemas now.