Force Majeure
Starring Johannes Bah Kuhnke, Lisa Loven Kongsli
Directed by Ruben Östlund
Just in time for the holidays, Ruben Östlund's squirm-inducing comedy/gut-wrenching-drama enjoys an extended run on local screens, inviting viewers to take the opportunity to laugh at other's misfortune and then leave the theatre looking askance at their significant others while playing an uncomfortable game of “What if?”
The catalyst for all of this a controlled avalanche at a ski resort in the French Alps that, in turn, unlocks some long-suppressed resentment in a Swedish couple. As a cascade of snow hurtles towards an outdoor cafe, Tomas’ (Johannes Bah Kuhnke) survival instincts take over and he runs for cover. Regrettably, while he thinks to grab his gloves and iPhone, he leaves his wife Ebba (Lisa Loven Kongsli) and two young children behind. When the powder clears, they're physically unscathed but fissures have formed in Tomas and Ebba's union. She can't forgive his cowardice, while he insists that things unfolded quite differently.
Östlund proves himself a rather playful provocateur, using his formal mastery to further his characters' discomfort. At times, it's akin to watching Michael Haneke direct a Larry David screenplay. As he holds his immaculately framed shots, Tomas and Ebba prove incapable of maintaining their facades of normalcy. As Kongsli takes the profound betrayal Ebba has suffered and forges it into a weapon with which to jab her husband and ensure that the incident remains an open wound, Kuhnke comically conveys Tomas' incremental emasculation, setting up two of the most spectacular humiliations suffered on screen this year.
Scenes from a marriage are rarely this visually arresting, darkly entertaining or scathingly incisive.
