Downhill Wobbles Rather than Glides

The Stauntons are not having a good vacation. Not only have Billie (Julia Louis-Dreyfus), Pete (Will Ferrell), and their preteen sons mistakenly selected an adults-only ski resort, but an incident on the very first day breaks open the cracks in their family they had hoped the trip would paper over. A controlled avalanche during lunch frightens all of them, but particularly Pete, who grabs his phone and gets as far away from the table (and his family) as he can. The rest of the movie unpacks the fallout from this moment.

The Stauntons try to file a complaint. Jaap Buitendijk/20th Century Fox

A remake of the 2014 Swedish film Force Majeure, Downhill is the second feature codirected by Nat Faxon and Jim Rash and the third feature they’ve cowritten, joined this time by Jesse Armstrong. Faxon and Rash’s previous films, The Descendants and The Way Way Back, are sensitively written family dramas about ordinary people trying to understand one another. Armstrong is currently best known as the creator of the HBO drama Succession, about the ruthless, wealthy family behind a powerful media empire. Despite the difference in subject matter, the creators’ work shares a depth and thoroughness, particularly in the relationships between characters.

Considering all of that, this film feels surprisingly underwritten. Despite the opportunity for focus that the inciting incident provides, the movie never really takes advantage of any of the opportunities sets up. Clearly the tension between Billie and Pete runs much deeper than this one event, but we’re never given enough context to understand why or how. This is most evident in the unfinished nature of Pete’s arc. He’s grieving his father’s death and feeling his own age, he’s jealous of his younger coworker’s unattached lifestyle, and he’s uncertain about his abilities and enjoyment of parenthood. All of this is explicitly stated, but none of it is built out enough to be meaningful.

Drinking on the mountain. Jaap Buitendijk/20th Century Fox

Julia Louis-Dreyfus’s performance holds the movie together. Both Billie’s pain and her attempts to hide that pain from Pete and the children are clear as day, and the way her character needs several days to articulate what precisely she’s upset about feels immediately recognizable. Louis-Dreyfus’s timing and delivery give every line the impact it needs, aided by the fact that she has a zillion perfect and unique fake laughs in her back pocket.

The supporting characters provide some entertaining background, but all feel underused. Zach Woods and Zoë Chau play Zach and Rosie, a younger couple on a whirlwind “Who knows where we’ll land?” trip through Europe, and Miranda Otto is disarmingly hilarious as Charlotte, a staff member at the resort who decides the Stauntons are her new best friends. The Stauntons are the main show here, but the movie is at its best when they’re evaluating and mitigating their own relationship in the presence of other couples. It’s easy to see how another couple’s closeness exacerbates their discomfort with one another, while strife between others sets them at a relieved ease.

Zach Woods and Zoë Chau as Zach and Rosie. Jaap Buitendijk/20th Century Fox

What Downhill does capture well is the inherent anxiety attached to family vacations, the pressure to make every moment the best it can be, and the inevitable disappointment when that proves impossible. At times it’s even shot like a “traditional” disaster movie—the film’s tagline is even “A different kind of disaster movie”—with idyllic yet ominous shots of the mountains and resort staffers at work interspersed throughout the film, keeping us on edge and reminding us of the emotional catastrophe the characters are undergoing.

The Stauntons and their new friends. Jaap Buitendijk/20th Century Fox

Perhaps attempting a remake of an immensely acclaimed preexisting movie is what tripped up Armstrong, Faxon, and Rash. All three are skilled at creating nuanced characters and situations that are both narratively original and emotionally recognizable, and adding their own spin to Force Majeure’s story results in a movie simultaneously overcrowded and empty. A lack of resolve in a film can be a strength, if used effectively. Expecting a movie to conclusively resolve every emotional question is as fruitless as expecting a vacation to conclusively fix a marriage, a family, or a life. However, without a grounded sense of what the characters want or are afraid of, there’s not much for the audience to hold onto when the lights come up. Downhill has the beginnings of an emotionally resonant movie—albeit a movie that technically already exists—but never quite makes it off the ski lift.