The prospect of Will Ferrell and Julia Louis-Dreyfus making a movie together – two fantastically funny forces – conjures ideas of one big, silly blast. But Downhill is not that movie – it’s a comedy-drama about a fractious relationship that unleashes a literal avalanche on married couple Billie and Pete (Ferrell and Louis-Dreyfus) and lets them deal with the bitter aftermath. If that set-up sounds familiar, it’s a remake of Ruben Östlund’s 2014 film Force Majeure – but if the ‘r’-word makes you itch, there’s a top team behind this one: The Way Way Back filmmakers Jim Rash and Nat Faxon, with a screenplay co-written by Peep Show and Succession's Jesse Armstrong. As seen in the new issue of Empire, here’s an exclusive new image from the film.
The film, arriving in cinemas in late February, follows Billie and Pete on a family skiing holiday – and charts the literal fallout when a nearby avalanche sees Pete dash off to save himself without first looking out for this wife and kids. If there are laughs to be had, they’re couched in awkwardness and emotional truthbombs. “You’re either going to be feeling, ‘Oh my god, I wanna get out of that room,’ or you might be laughing at how horribly uncomfortable it is,” Ferrell tells Empire. “That’s what we’re going for.”
Read more about Downhill in the 100 Greatest Movies Of The Century issue – which comes in six collectible covers, illustrated exclusively for Empire by Paul Shipper. Pick yours when the issue hits shelves on Thursday 23 January.
