Downhill

Based on Ruben Östlund’s Force Majeure, Downhill follows Will Ferrell’s Pete and Julia Louis-Dreyfus’ Billie as they arrive at an Austrian ski resort for a vacation with their two sons – although problems ensue after a controlled avalanche forces both Pete and Billie to question their relationship. Much like its predecessor, Downhill suffers from a decidedly erratic atmosphere that’s compounded by an ongoing reliance on needlessly off-kilter elements – with much of the film detailing Pete and Billie’s encounters with a series of quirky supporting figures. (Miranda Otto’s thoroughly over-the-top turn as a hedonistic hotel employee is surely the most egregious example of this.) It’s equally clear, however, that Downhill possesses a raft of above-average attributes that slowly-but-surely win the viewer over, as filmmakers Nat Faxon and Jim Rash have packed the proceedings with a number of unexpectedly gripping sequences and interludes – with, for example, a mid-movie get-together between Pete and Billie and two friends, which devolves into a seriously emotional confrontation, certainly standing as the picture’s high-water-mark and obvious centerpiece. The inclusion of riveting sequences like that, coupled with legitimately great lead performances by Ferrell and Louis-Dreyfus, ultimately makes it easy enough to overlook Downhill’s few missteps, and, by the time the note-perfect conclusion rolls around, the film has undoubtedly cemented its place as a top-tier remake that does far more right than it does wrong.

***1/2 out of ****