Captain Fantastic
Dustin Chase
There is a beauty inside Matt Ross’s film “Captain Fantastic” that is rare and unexplored on film. He might appear as an eccentric, unorthodox father, endangering the lives of his six children by raising them on 300-year-old methods. An open-minded viewer might instead find a film that explores the difficulties of parenthood regardless of the style they choose. Inspired by his own tribulations with raising children, Ross delivers a film that stuffs every frame with innovative production design, a captivating original score composed by Alex Somers, and a leading character played by Viggo Mortensen (“The Lord of the Rings”) that feels tailor-made to his sensibilities. “Captain Fantastic” captures life, whether through laughter, influential conversations, or the celebration of loss.
Ben (Mortensen) and Leslie (Trin Miller) made a choice to take their lives and family into nature and away from modern society. They would raise six children in the Pacific Northwest, living off the land and natural resources, home-schooling, and equipping their offspring with the tools of survival. However, Leslie suffers from severe bipolar disorder and leaves Ben as a single parent. The children’s ages range from eldest, 18-year-old Bodevan (George MacKay), to youngest, 5-year-old Nai (Charlie Shotwell). Their days consist of harvesting the land and animals for food and shelter, learning defense, and education through books and art. When tragedy strikes, the family must journey in their camper bus to New Mexico and carry out the wishes of their mother despite the extended family’s resistance to their lifestyle.
Captain Fantastic generates discussion, insight, self-reflection and maybe even a little magic.
If Christopher McCandless (“Into the Wild”) had survived his life-affirming journey across the Midwest and into Alaska, I believe Ben’s character is exactly the type of husband/father into which he would have evolved. “The Kings of Summer” (2013), “Into the Wild” (2007), and “Captain Fantastic” could almost work together as a trilogy: ‘Life Off the Beaten Path’. During a dinner scene with Leslie’s sister Harper (Hahn), the film reaches the height of comparisons between Ben’s family and the modern family. Scenes where Ben’s children are faced with scenarios they are unprepared for (talking to another sex, playing video games, etc.) are mostly comic relief. Yet it builds toward a climax where Ben must account for the choices he made for his family and accept that even this alternative lifestyle won’t keep the outside world away.
“There is no cavalry. No one will magically appear and save you in the end,” Ben explains to Rellian (Nicholas Hamilton), the 13-year-old who fractures his hand while they are family rock climbing hundreds of feet in the air. Honestly, it is the policy, even when his younger children ask about sex or what’s happening with their mother. The screenplay continues to ask the question of what is right and what is responsible until it becomes so loud Ben is forced to make a decision. Ben’s own self-realization isn’t different from the one George Clooney had to face in “The Descendants.” “The backup parent” who becomes the single parent in charge of all the decisions. Mortensen’s best performances were always the soulful ones, requiring body language over large amounts of dialogue or action. He exceeds even the greatest of expectations, culminating in one of the film’s most heartbreaking scenes, which captures his withered face in close-up as he drives their bus Steve away from the family. Mortensen, Ross, and the entire team tap into something larger than just entertainment. Captain Fantastic generates discussion, insight, self-reflection, and maybe even a little magic.
Final Thought
Unconventionally the best family film of the year.