Force of Habit
The Finnish Drama „Force of Habit“ is the result of a collaboration between seven directors. Released under Tuffi Films, the movie shows the lives of various women over the course of one day. The women are connected through one element: all of them experience some kind of sexual harassment. Six short films set different scenes: while Hilla finds herself groped in a restaurant, Emmi gets assaulted at a house party and Milja is harassed on her way to school. Simultaneously, the young actress Eppnu has a hard time portraying a rape scene and Niina is fighting her assaulter in court. Lastly Katja opens up about her sexual assault at a company party, where she is faced with different reactions.
The movie does a good job portraying different perspectives in a neutral way, leaving room for interpretation and sparking a conversation. Additionally, the film highlights the effect of internalized misogyny on both female and male figures as much as it brings into focus the normalization of inappropriate behavior in our day and age. „Force of Habit“ shows the realities of sexual harassment against women in a new light and might leave some viewers in conflict with themselves.
While some might argue that the succession of short films produce an overall chaotic and overwhelming effect that makes the movie hard to follow, I do believe the directors wanted to show a variety of scenarios in order to underline both the commonness and variety of assault shaping our reality. Personally I have found the end of the movie to be especially intense and eye-opening. Groundbreaking symbolism and the play with the viewers’ thoughts result in a perfect depiction of society’s and women’s views on harassment. „Force of Habit“ is definitely worth watching. Though the audience can be left uncomfortable and irritated at times, hardly any movie has managed to represent the realities of harassment this well.
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