SNOW JOKE
Total Film|February 2020
An avalanche causes more than just panic in Downhill, as Will Ferrell and Julia Louis Dreyfus put marriage under the microscope in this remake of sly Swedish comedy-drama Force Majeure. Total Film joins them on the slopes to find out more.
JAMES MOTTRAM AND ADAM TANSWELL
SNOW JOKE
February 2019. Total Film has packed its ski boots and set off for the Austrian ski town of Ischgl. It’s where the production of Downhill is currently shooting.

The film crew looks incongruous on the snow-filled streets and quaint cobbled roadways, but the locals have been welcoming, and the production’s enjoying the crisp white powdered slopes and the “lively” nightlife, as the guidebooks claim. “This is quite a raucous town,” chuckles co-writer/director Nat Faxon. “Julia has been going out every night and we have been trying to keep up… but haven’t been able to.”

The ‘Julia’ in question is Julia Louis-Dreyfus, the Veep star who here teams up with the inimitable Will Ferrell; the pair play a married couple who arrive in Austria for a rejuvenating ski holiday with their two children. “This movie is very much about the relationship between a husband and wife and how that sort of unravels – or not – over a period of five days,” explains Louis-Dreyfus, who plays Billie.

The inciting incident is a natural disaster that becomes quietly devastating for those involved. When the family are enjoying a tranquil moment on a balcony overlooking the Alps, an avalanche strikes nearby. Although everyone remains unharmed, the family are left in a state of shock over the reaction of Ferrell’s Pete, who panics and flees without a thought for his loved ones.

TAKE TWO

This story is from the February 2020 edition of Total Film.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.

This story is from the February 2020 edition of Total Film.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.

MORE STORIES FROM TOTAL FILMView All
Dune: Part Two – Desert Power
Total Film

Dune: Part Two – Desert Power

Like a colossal sandworm racing towards the rhythmic beat of a thumper, Dune: Part Two is almost upon us. And this time, it's war. Total Film returns to Arrakis with writer/director Denis Villeneuve and his (inter) stellar cast to spill the spice on the sci-fi event of the year.

time-read
10+ mins  |
February 2024
Here Be Dragons
Total Film

Here Be Dragons

DAMSEL – Millie Bobby Brown fights fire with fire in the bedtime story that’s finally being told the right way.

time-read
4 mins  |
February 2024
Back to School
Total Film

Back to School

MONSTER – Hirokazu Kore-eda’s latest takes us into a child’s viewpoint once again...

time-read
2 mins  |
February 2024
JESSIE BUCKLEY
Total Film

JESSIE BUCKLEY

Catapulting to fame over the last five years, instinctive Irish actor Jessie Buckley has wowed in films (Wild Rose, I'm Thinking of Ending Things, Men) and TV (Chernobyl, Fargo S4). She was Oscar-nominated for The Lost Daughter, won a Laurence Olivier award for Cabaret and now she's spewing wild profanities at Olivia Colman in hilarious period comedy Wicked Little Letters.....

time-read
10+ mins  |
February 2024
Marty me
Total Film

Marty me

Thelma Schoonmaker has edited every Martin Scorsese movie since 1980's Raging Bull. The three-time Oscar winner tells Total Film all about their legendary relationship, and why movies like Good Fellas, The Departed and Killers of the Flower Moon are a cut above...

time-read
7 mins  |
February 2024
FRISKY BUSINESS
Total Film

FRISKY BUSINESS

Margaret Qualley and Geraldine Viswanathan star as queer friends being chased by dumb male criminals in Drive-Away Dolls, a road movie/ romantic comedy/crime caper by husband-and-wife team Ethan Coen and Tricia Cooke. Total Film hitches a ride with the directors and stars to talk dark laughs, dim crims and dildos…

time-read
9 mins  |
February 2024
JACK MY LIFE IN PICTURES BLACK
Total Film

JACK MY LIFE IN PICTURES BLACK

Over the years he's made us laugh as rockers, animated critters and videogame avatars. As he prepares to go full Dragon Warrior again in the fourth Kung Fu Panda movie, JACK BLACK riffs on some of his biggest hits with Total Film

time-read
8 mins  |
February 2024
DOG DAYS
Total Film

DOG DAYS

Pablo Berger's animated silent’ movie brings the noise.

time-read
2 mins  |
February 2024
BEHIND PARADISE
Total Film

BEHIND PARADISE

RED ISLAND A coming-of-age-tale that creatively explores France’s colonial past.

time-read
2 mins  |
February 2024
THE SIXTH SENSE
Total Film

THE SIXTH SENSE

MADAME WEB Dakota Johnson brings wit and grit to Sony’s clairvoyant-superhero-origin-story thriller.

time-read
2 mins  |
February 2024