Force Majeure

2014

Force Majeure

Critics Consensus

Gleefully uncomfortable, Force Majeure is a relationship drama that's hard to watch -- and just as difficult to ignore.

Force Majeure Photos

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Movie Info

A critical favorite and word-of-mouth sensation at this year's Cannes Festival, where it took the Jury Prize in Un Certain Regard, this wickedly funny and precisely observed psychodrama tells the story of a model Swedish family-handsome businessman Tomas, his willowy wife Ebba and their two blond, pre-teen children-on a skiing holiday in the French Alps. The sun is shining and the slopes are spectacular but, during lunch at a mountainside restaurant, an avalanche turns everything upside down. With panicked diners fleeing in all directions, Ebba calls out for her husband as she tries to protect their children. Tomas, however, makes a decision that will shake the family's world to its core. Although the anticipated disaster fails to occur, his marriage now hangs in the balance as he struggles to reclaim his role as family patriarch. (C) Magnolia Pictures

Rating:

R (for some language and brief nudity)
Genre:

Art House & International, Comedy, Drama
Directed By:

Ruben Östlund
Written By:

Ruben Östlund
In Theaters:

Oct 24, 2014 limited
On Disc/Streaming:

Feb 10, 2015
Runtime:

120 minutes
Studio:

Magnolia Pictures

Watch it now

Cast

Johannes Kuhnke
as Tomas

Lisa Loven Kongsli
as Ebba

Clara Wettergren
as Vera

Vincent Wettergren
as Harry

Kristofer Hivju
as Mats

Fanni Metelius
as Fanni

News & Interviews for Force Majeure

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Critic Reviews for Force Majeure

All Critics (155) | Top Critics (38) | Fresh (145) | Rotten (10)

Östlund and his superb cast have made an odd, gripping movie. Let it rock your world.

Apr 10, 2015 | Rating: 4/5 | Full Review…

Charlotte O'Sullivan
London Evening Standard
Top Critic
[A] superb black comedy.

Apr 9, 2015 | Rating: 5/5

Wendy Ide
Times (UK)
Top Critic
An essentially hollow contrivance, more concerned with pushing hot buttons and sparking discussion than organically developing characters or probing complex issues.

Apr 9, 2015 | Rating: 3/5 | Full Review…

Neil Young
Little White Lies
Top Critic
Ruben Östlund's icily disturbing family drama, set in an upscale ski resort in the French Alps, is a disaster movie without a disaster.

Apr 9, 2015 | Rating: 4/5 | Full Review…

Peter Bradshaw
Guardian
Top Critic
For a comedy about emotional pain, this is neither discomforting nor terribly funny, and the satire of bourgeois complacency doesn't cut very deep.

Nov 21, 2014 | Full Review…

Ben Sachs
Chicago Reader
Top Critic
Ultimately, "Force Majeure" becomes a thoughtful examination, through Tomas and Ebba, of the person who lives inside each of us, emerging only in the most unguarded moments - and not always a person we want to acknowledge.

Nov 20, 2014 | Rating: 3/4

Moira MacDonald
Seattle Times
Top Critic
See it with someone with whom you want to feel weird holding hands.

Aug 31, 2019 | Full Review…

Andrew Todd
Birth.Movies.Death.
Like the avalanche, it follows an unpredictable trajectory, traversing the edge of drama and comedy, as we appreciate the strange beauty of losing our bearings.

Aug 7, 2019 | Full Review…

Brian D. Johnson
Maclean's Magazine
That absence of a strong conclusion, along with the comedic tone, makes Force Majeure light on its feet, an enjoyable but not too penetrative exploration of a fascinating topic.

Jun 10, 2019 | Rating: 7.6/10 | Full Review…

C.J. Prince
Way Too Indie
Force majeure is a legal term denoting an unforeseen, disruptive event that obstructs the fulfillment of a contract. In the film, it is a synonym for avalanche; the contract in question, marriage and family.

Apr 30, 2019 | Full Review…

Antonio Sison
National Catholic Reporter
Acting is uniformly great, the players conveying as much of their struggles using body language as with words, while Ostlund's white-out scenery is both majestic and alienating.

Apr 17, 2019 | Rating: 8/10 | Full Review…

Julie Crawford
North Shore News (Vancouver, B.C.)
Force Majeure is a gripping and deftly observed drama that adds caustic condemnation through its embracing of humour.

Apr 4, 2019 | Rating: 4/5 | Full Review…

Ben Nicholson
CineVue

View All Critic Reviews (155)

Audience Reviews for Force Majeure

Jul 06, 2017

Family drama that easily could have been half an hour shorter. There is some interesting camera work, but a mix of genuine and oddly forced situations and conversations. Parts of the film feel as slow and exhausting as being in a bad relationship. Still, most of the film, like its random end sequence is oddly memorable.

Jens S Super Reviewer
Sep 21, 2015

Self inflicted torture. Thank goodness for the fast forward feature as it would hardly move by itself. So much time spent on showing characters walking, sleeping, eating, brushing, skiing, etc. that hardly adds anything to the story. Just filled with too much of nothingness. There were a handful of worthwhile moments, but not enough to overlook its pacing. Being lauded by so many viewers, I kept waiting for something interesting to happen, but in vain eventually. Even at the end, when they show a group of people walking, I hoped something to happen. But they kept walking for a while, and the movie ended there abruptly. Art lovers & elite cinegoers might surely hail this flick as meaningful cinema, but to ME, it's sheer BS & an exercise in futility.

familiar s Super Reviewer
Jul 07, 2015

Gripping, funny and stark exploration of gender roles and archetypes through conversations and situations that feel real and empathetic. It's like Interiors-era Woody Allen meets Thomas Winterberg.

Daniel P Super Reviewer
Apr 11, 2015

Probably the best film about a ski holiday ever, with Kubrick style filmmaking coupled with a cringe-worthy black comedy plot.

Ross C Super Reviewer