Odds are, if you’ve caught the pre-show at a Cinemark theater recently or tuned into the 2020 Oscars, you’ve noticed Will Ferrell and Julia Louis-Dreyfus making the rounds to promote their new movie Downhill. A remake of Swedish filmmaker Ruben Östlund’s 2014 dramedy Force Majeure, Downhill plays out more like an extension of Louis-Dreyfus’ brand of cringe comedy (a la Veep) than a chip off the same block as Ferrell’s best-known lampoons (a la Anchorman). That may explain why the former seems to be more in their element here than the latter and, for that matter, this American redo at large. Unlike Louis-Dreyfus’ nuanced and sharply drawn performance, Downhill tends to sketch its uncomfortable comedy-drama scenarios a little too broadly.
Ferrell and Louis-Dreyfus star in Downhill as Pete and Billie Staunton, a well-to-do married couple who take their young sons, Finn and Emerson (Julian Grey and Ammon Jacob Ford), on a family ski vacation in the Alps. Pete’s had a hard time of late due to his father having passed away eight months earlier, but otherwise he and Billie seem pretty happy and their relationship is going strong as can be. However, when Pete takes off running - with his phone - and leaves his loved ones during an avalanche that looks like it’s going to kill them (it doesn’t), it sends the couple into a tailspin and forces them to really question their commitment to one another.
Much like on their feature debut, The Way, Way Back, directors Nat Faxon and Jim Rash (drawing from a script they co-wrote with Jesse Armstrong) are most successful when they lean into the natural awkwardness of the everyday social interactions in Downhill. The pair have a knack for quietly capturing the inherent messiness of relationships, be they between couples or parents and kids, and it serves them especially well in the scenes where either Pete and/or Billie bend over backwards to avoid talking about how they feel or what they want the other person to say following their “near-death” experience. Problem is, between its subtler moments, Downhill tends to play out as a series of either over the top comedic or dramatic situations and struggles to maintain its delicate tonal balance. It’s the film equivalent of underlining the most important points in an essay, as opposed to trusting the audience will know when a scene is intended to be funny, serious, or a bit of both.
It’s an issue that further extends to the characterization in Downhill. Louis-Dreyfus does an excellent job portraying Billie as she deals with a whirlwind of feelings (frustration, confusion, heartbreak) over Pete’s behavior both during and after the avalanche, and the best parts of the film are those that focus on her own subsequent existential crisis. Ferrell, by comparison, is almost a little too buttoned-down and lacks Louis-Dreyfus’ emotional range in what’s otherwise a fine turn to add to his collection of more dramatic roles (see also: Stranger Than Fiction). But while the pair are working on the same page, the other characters in Downhill are generally either comical stereotypes - like Miranda Otto as Charlotte, a sexually-liberated employee at the hotel where Pete and Billie stay - or pure caricatures like Zach Woods as Pete’s aloof co-worker Zach and Zoë Chao as his millennial girlfriend Rosie (a person who actually goes around saying “Hashtag” all the time).
Obviously, this is meant to highlight the difference between Pete and Billie’s approach to their dilemma and the attitudes of those around them, but it’s another example of Downhill favoring a ham-fisted approach over a more restrained one. To its credit, the film is more understated when it comes to its visual storytelling and the way Danny Cohen’s cinematography brings out the changing moods of the Alps (quietly serene one day, threatening and ominous the next) to reflect its characters’ emotional state of being. That goes double for Volker Bertelmann’s score and the way its vocals come off sounding either harmonious or melancholy, depending on the context of the scene. At the same time, these subdued stylistic elements only make the movie’s writing seem all the more out of touch with everything else.
Far from being a full-blown disaster, Downhill is a middle of the road comedy-drama that would’ve benefitted from a more incisive technique and a little extra faith in its audience’s ability to grasp the subtleties of its story. For that reason, there’s not a whole lot of reason for those who’ve already seen Force Majeure to give this one a look, considering it’s basically a watered-down retread of the same film. Those who’re still curious may want to check it out at some point, if only for Louis-Dreyfus and the movie’s nods to its predecessor (including, a cameo by Game of Thrones’ Kristofer Hivju, who also appeared in Force Majeure). Beyond that, you can add Downhill to the list of European films-turned U.S. remakes where something got lost in translation.
Downhill is now playing in U.S. theaters. It is 86 minutes long and is rated R for language and some sexual material.
- Downhill Release Date: 2020-02-14
