Our verdict: four stars
While it won't have done anything for the sale of family skiing holidays, the Cannes-prizewinning Force Majeure certainly closed the Glasgow Film Festival tonight in suitably left-field style.
Like all the best ideas, it was a simple one. Take an ordinary family of four, put them in an extraordinary situation - in this case an avalanche - and see how they react.
Who plays the hero? Who does not? And can anyone ever know what goes on within families, even the families themselves?
Writer-director Ruben Ostland takes these notions, and more, and has a lot of fun with them. There are plenty of serious points being made here, but Ostland's deft way with bleak comedy lightens the load.
Think Abigail's Party on skis as he puts his little family through the mill, and then some. You'll wince, you'll laugh, and you will definitely favour a beach holiday this year.
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