Downhill

About Downhill

Downhill (2020) is an American black comedy-drama film directed by Nat Faxon and Jim Rash. The film is inspired by the motion picture Force Majeure by Ruben Östlund. It captures the story of a married couple, forced to re-evaluate their lives and their perceptions of each other after narrowly escaping an avalanche during a family ski vacation in the Alps.

Making / Production

Downhill was produced by Searchlight Pictures and was released on February 14, 2020. Directed by the Academy award winners Nat Faxon and Jim Rash, significant emphasis was laid on extracting humor from uncomfortable situations.

Actors

• Will Ferrell as Pete Staunton: With his unique comedic flair, Ferrell delivers a convincing performance showing how his character struggles with his own weakness.
• Julia Louis-Dreyfus as Billie Staunton: Louis-Dreyfus powerfully portrays Billie, a woman confronting her husband's failed responsibilities during a moment of crisis.
• Zach Woods as Zach: Woods plays the role of a coworker and friend to Pete with considerable ease and earnestness.
• Zoe Chao as Rosie: Chao plays Rosie, Zach’s girlfriend, bringing her own spirit to the role.

Trivia / Interesting Facts

• The film is an American adaption of the Swedish film, Force Majeure (2014).
• The movie was shot on location in Ischgl, Fiss and Vienna, Austria and in Are, Sweden.
• Despite being an adaptation, Downhill has a running time that is 40 minutes shorter than that of Force Majeure.

Awards

The film did not win any notable awards.

Quotes

• “Every day is all we have.” - Pete
• “You ran so you could live and deal with the aftermath.” - Billie

Music, Soundtrack

The music for Downhill is composed by Volker Bertelmann, also known as Hauschka. The soundtrack reflects the seriousness of the film's subject and includes both original compositions and previously released tracks.