Better Late than Never on "Force Majeure"

Last week I saw the 2014 movie "Force Majeure". I have wanted to see this movie for quite awhile, and it was on cable so I finally rectified it and sat down and watched from start to finish.

I enjoyed this movie a lot. I thought it moved very well, it was a good story, the actors did a wonderful job and it was one of the funnier movies I've ever seen. I waited too long to see it, but I did and I enjoyed it. But that is not all that I wanted to say about this movie.

The story of the movie, for those that do not know, is about a family on a ski trip in the Alps and it looks as if an avalanche is going to swallow them all at breakfast. But, the avalanche stopped and did no damage at all. But that is not the whole story. When it looked like it was going to be disastrous the husband of the family ran off and left his wife and kids to fend for themselves. The movie then deals with the aftermath of his decision. And that has been on my mind ever since I finished the movie.

I really liked the way they handled this whole scenario. The husband made a cowardly decision. He ran off and only protected himself. He cared about his well being over everyone else's. I would like to think that if I were in this situation that I would act differently. I would love to say that I took action and protected my family. But I do not know what I would do. I have, luckily, never been in a situation like this one, or something equivalent. What I liked about the way they broached the whole thing was seeing it from different people's perspectives. The husband is trying to play it off. He claims he didn't run. But when pushed, and shown proof that he did, he claims he was going off to help others. While that is all well and good, he should watch out for his family first. That makes the most sense to me. The husband did a cowardly thing, resists that he was wrong, but does eventually get to make it up to everyone. The way the actor handles some of the situations in the movie make it hilarious as well. There is a scene where he starts to cry uncontrollably and it is cringe at first, then hilarious, then sad. They manage to show three different reactions in a five minute scene. It's masterful. The wife, you can tell, is furious. She is upset with his decision. She wants him to own up to what he has done. She has clearly lost a little respect for her husband. She tries to dull it with wine, but that makes her open up about her frustration even more. The actor playing the wife was amazing. I felt her pain and grief a bunch. I also sympathized with her when the husband tried to gaslight her into saying he was actually helping. It is another wonderful performance. The friends who show up, an older man and his 20 year old girlfriend, show us two other sides to the entire event. They also have some of the best, and funniest, moments in the movie. The whole scene at the hotel elevator was wonderful. When the guy goes skiing with the husband, that is some hilarious way to try and show male bravado on screen. When the man and his girlfriend are up all night arguing over nonsense, it is funny and relatable.

"Force Majeure" is a very well made movie. It is dark, funny, dramatic and very well made. I really enjoyed every minute of it. I highly recommend seeing it yourself. It will make you question how you would react if you were in a similar situation, and that makes it that much better. Check this movie out. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

Come and support Ty and the podcast on Patreon.

Follow Ty on instagram.

SeedSing is funded by a group of awesome people. Join them by donating to SeedSing.