[yasr_overall_rating]
In the forests of the Pacific Northwest, a father devoted to raising his six kids with a rigorous physical and intellectual education is forced to leave his paradise and enter the world, challenging his idea of what it means to be a parent.
What happens when a father prepares his children for the world, but not for living in it? This and many more questions invade the mind as “Captain Fantastic” unfolds. The story shows a father raising his six children alone in the forest of Northwest Oregon. He puts them through tri-athlete training and teaches them philosophy and classical literature, among other survival skills. Eventually, we learn tragic facts about the children’s missing mother. This news causes the family to jump on their bus and head to see their grandparents’ mansion for their mother’s funeral. The trip is an adventure, full of events that “stick it to the man.” Very little of it is fun and games. By the time the rest of the family enters into the picture, deep seated tensions arise.
Few movies have been cast so well. Viggo Mortensen is the family patriarch and seems to play a version of himself. He’s a tough hippie who knows the land and how to live well off it. As with his other roles, he brings such heart to the role that it’s saddening to see him reluctantly learn and grow in unexpected ways. The child cast captures the confusion such a situation would bring to young children placed in a virtually impossible situation. Headlined by oldest son, Bo (George MacKay), and daughter Kielyr (Samantha Isler) with standout performances from youngest cast members Zaja (Shree Cooks), Nai (Charlie Shotwell) and mid-sized preteen Relian (Nicholas Hamilton), each child gives an incredible range of reactions from shock to rebellion, anger to love, and confusion to loyalty. Annalise Basso gives second daughter Vespyr everything she has, but her role gets lost a bit in the confusion of such a large family. Frank Langella provides all the nerves of confronting a hated son in law in Jack, who has wealth and influence beyond most people’s dreams, but can’t control either his emotions or his family when it comes to Ben and his late daughter’s grandchildren.
Ben clearly shows all the signs of a dedicated father who only wants what’s best for his children, but his unconventional lifestyle and parenting will cause each viewer to question both his sanity and their own parenting choices. He turns out a brood with excellent physical fitness, depth of education and a deep love for Noam Chomsky. So much of his world surrounds a counter-cultural existence, he can’t see value in even a few moderately mainstream ideas. Mortensen perfectly embodies Ben at every turn. He’s a character we both misunderstand and sympathize with. Mortensen finds the father inside a steely-eyed activist who’s lost sight of his own end goal. His moments of self realization, and self denial, show in every scar and wrinkle on the actor’s face.
Matt Ross transitions from acting to directing in fine form. He understands that, while much of the story centers around parental choices, the heart of “Captain Fantastic” is the children and how they’re affected by the adults around them. Working from his own script, he moves easily into themes not usually addressed by films of this nature. The silliness of “The Incredibles” and the hard-bitten mellow drama of “Ordinary People” are distilled into a set of relationships which settle uneasily together. These elements provide depth without overly manipulating the audience until the end. While the final 20 minutes slip into sentimentality and give a few too many pat answers for such a complex film, the vast majority of Ross’ direction and script are intensely moving and even affirming.
“Captain Fantastic” provides a much needed contrast to such parenting farces as “National Lampoon’s Vacation (remake)” and shows Hollywood a better blueprint for exploring family and social issues together in powerful ways.
In select theaters Friday, July 15th
