Captain Fantastic-2016
Director Matt Ross
Starring Viggo Mortensen
Scott’s Review #616
Reviewed February 10, 2017
Grade: B+
A thought-provoking story that raises a question of home-schooled, non-traditional book intelligence versus the lack of social norms and interactions and debates about which upbringings are more relevant, Captain Fantastic (2016) is a terrific film with a moral center.
The film, which stars Viggo Mortensen, is a family drama with a unique spin and edgy subject matter. Mortensen is not afraid to tackle complex and thoughtful roles.
Although it is perhaps not as gritty as it could have been and feels a bit safe, it still entertains and elicits thought, a critical aspect of film often lacking in modern cinema.
Director Matt Ross immediately treats us to aerial views of the green and mountainous Pacific Northwest, where a family of seven- one father and six children aged five to seventeen, silently prey on and kill a deer grazing in the forest. This is their dinner.
The family is unorthodox, to say the least.
Led by Ben Cash (Mortensen), he teaches the children how to fight, how to survive, and how to be ready for any situation. They are brilliant kids who can recite the Bill of Rights and the most complex literature.
Soon, it is revealed that their mother, Leslie, has committed suicide, and a battle ensues between her parents (Frank Langella and Ann Dowd), who is determined to bury her “properly” with a Christian funeral, and Ben and his children, who are determined to honor her last wishes for cremation.
Ben and the gang travel via their run-down school bus to New Mexico, meeting local townspeople as a battle of cultures occurs.
I commend Ross for creating a story that challenges the viewer to think, depending on the viewer’s religious or political views. There is a risk of people either loving or hating the film.
The film is skewed toward the left, as in the dinner and sleepover scenes with Ben’s sister. Her “Americanized” family is awkward, and the families have entirely different styles.
Ross makes it clear that Ben and his family are the intelligent ones, and his sister’s kids are pretty dumb, not even knowing what the Bill of Rights is and mindlessly playing violent video games.
The fact that they are a “typical American family” is sad and quite telling of wRoss’s perspective
Captain Fantastic wisely shows that either side is not perfect. His oldest son, Bodevan, blooming sexually, has an awkward encounter with a pretty girl, proposing marriage to her with her mother present because he knows no social norms.
A younger son is attracted to a “normal” life with his grandparents, who are a wealthy couple. The grandparents are not presented as bad people; instead, they want the best for their grandchildren and fear how their lives will turn out without better structure or what they perceive as a better upbringing.
Some of the kids blame Ben for their lack of social skills and being what they perceive as “freaks.”
The film does end safely as a happy medium is ultimately reached, but I never felt cheapened by this result. I found Captain Fantastic rich in intelligent writing and a challenging tale.
Many moments of “what would you do?” were brought to the forefront. Mortensen portrays Ben Cash flawlessly, mixing just the right vulnerability with the stubbornness of the character, and it is an excellent film for anyone fearing being intelligent is not cool because it is.
Oscar Nominations: Best Actor-Viggo Mortensen
Independent Spirit Award Nominations: Best Male Lead-Viggo Mortensen
