Who hasn't endured the family holiday? On this ski vacation everything goes down hill, but is it a controlled avalanche or will the family be destroyed? This is a brilliant and hilarious look at gender roles and family dynamics. An unfamiliar and challenging holiday environment plus unforeseen circumstances raise questions that can usually be ignored in the routine of everyday family life. Unspoken role assumptions and comfortable self-perceptions are tested; the individual choices and unthinking compromises hidden by busy lives are imperilled. Director, Michael Longhurst, and writer, Tim Price, have created a world that does justice to Ruben Östlund's cleverly original work, while Jon Bausor's ingenious set design threatens to steal the show. However, all of the cast rise to the occasion and create characters that are both familiar and refreshingly unique. Rory Kinnear as father, Tomas, and Lyndsey Marshal as mother, Ebba, are simply outstanding. Every gesture and intonation rings true to their characters. Florence Hunt creates a suitably self-absorbed teenager and Henry Hunt is the archetypal little brother. All in all, this is a family outing that offers a lot of laughter, some painful insights, and will definitely be the stuff of memories.
Rated: ★★★★★
Reviewed by J.C.
Photo by Marc Brenner.
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