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Captain Fantastic
A powerhouse Oscar-nominated performance from Viggo Mortensen anchors a raw and disturbing drama from 2016 called Captain Fantastic that takes a jaundiced look at the art of parenting that should be required viewing of anyone raising young children and wondering if they're doing it right.
Mortensen plays Ben, the father of six children who, along with wife, Leslie, apparently decided years ago to forego traditional American society and made the decision to raise their children as survivalists in the wilderness of the Pacific Northwest. The children are subjected to brutal physical training on a daily business that rivals the military and are only allowed to eat what they kill. Leslie has been hospitalized for three months as the story opens and then Ben learns that Leslie has taken her own life. After a nasty phone conversation with his father-in-law, who says he is forbidden to attend the funeral, Ben packs the kids into their converted school bus/traveling home christened Steve and begin the road trip of a lifetime.
Matt Ross, an actor who had supporting roles in such films as Goodnight and Good Luck, The Aviator, and American Psycho might have found his real niche in Hollywood behind the camera as director and writer of this striking and uncompromising drama that asks a lot of ugly questions and provides few answers. The story evokes mixed emotions as we see that Ben's intentions for his children are understandable to a point, even if his methods are often questionable and dangerous. We observe one training session of mountain scaling where one of the children almost falls off the edge of the mountain and , instead of offering help, Ben instructs him on how to figure out how to get down the mountain with an injury. And trust and believe that Ben has not neglected the children's home-schooling either. His 8-year old daughter can recite the entire Bill of Rights.
Ross' screenplay is fuzzy on a couple of points...we are given conflicting stories regarding whether or not Leslie was on board with her children being raised as survivalists and the validity of Leslie's will is never made clear to my satisfaction, but there were a couple of things in the story that really rang true for this reviewer. I loved the fact that Ben's younger son, Rellian, is not happy with the way he's living and that he blames his father for what happened to his mother and every time he's on the cusp of confronting his dad, he backs off. The reveal that his older son, Bodevan, has been planning to go to college behind his father's back also made for some compelling drama. The visit with Ben's sister and brother-in-law bristles with tension as they try to convince Ben that his children need to live a normal life.
What comes through so beautifully in Ross' story is Ben's unconditional love for his children even if his ways of showing it aren't always appropriate. I found it disturbing that he gifted his 8-year old daughter with a hunting knife for her birthday but even more disturbing was her unabashed joy at receiving the gift. I also was fascinated by the somewhat savage behavior of the children, especially at the beginning of the story. They are observed reacting to certain situations more like animals than human beings.
The film is handsomely mounted, with some stunning cinematography, film editing and sound. Viggo Mortensen once again proves he's one of the most underrated actors in the business with a gritty and heartbreaking performance that earned him his second Oscar nomination. Also loved Kathryn Hahn and Steve Zahn as Ben's sister and brother-in-law and the classy turn by Frank Langella as Ben's father-in-law. Also deserving mention are the performances of George McKay and Nicholas Hamilton as Ben's sons, Bodevan and Rellian. It's not exactly The Waltons, but it is a bold and gutsy film experience that pulls few punches and never apologizes for it and establishes Matt Ross as a filmmaker to watch .
A powerhouse Oscar-nominated performance from Viggo Mortensen anchors a raw and disturbing drama from 2016 called Captain Fantastic that takes a jaundiced look at the art of parenting that should be required viewing of anyone raising young children and wondering if they're doing it right.
Mortensen plays Ben, the father of six children who, along with wife, Leslie, apparently decided years ago to forego traditional American society and made the decision to raise their children as survivalists in the wilderness of the Pacific Northwest. The children are subjected to brutal physical training on a daily business that rivals the military and are only allowed to eat what they kill. Leslie has been hospitalized for three months as the story opens and then Ben learns that Leslie has taken her own life. After a nasty phone conversation with his father-in-law, who says he is forbidden to attend the funeral, Ben packs the kids into their converted school bus/traveling home christened Steve and begin the road trip of a lifetime.
Matt Ross, an actor who had supporting roles in such films as Goodnight and Good Luck, The Aviator, and American Psycho might have found his real niche in Hollywood behind the camera as director and writer of this striking and uncompromising drama that asks a lot of ugly questions and provides few answers. The story evokes mixed emotions as we see that Ben's intentions for his children are understandable to a point, even if his methods are often questionable and dangerous. We observe one training session of mountain scaling where one of the children almost falls off the edge of the mountain and , instead of offering help, Ben instructs him on how to figure out how to get down the mountain with an injury. And trust and believe that Ben has not neglected the children's home-schooling either. His 8-year old daughter can recite the entire Bill of Rights.
Ross' screenplay is fuzzy on a couple of points...we are given conflicting stories regarding whether or not Leslie was on board with her children being raised as survivalists and the validity of Leslie's will is never made clear to my satisfaction, but there were a couple of things in the story that really rang true for this reviewer. I loved the fact that Ben's younger son, Rellian, is not happy with the way he's living and that he blames his father for what happened to his mother and every time he's on the cusp of confronting his dad, he backs off. The reveal that his older son, Bodevan, has been planning to go to college behind his father's back also made for some compelling drama. The visit with Ben's sister and brother-in-law bristles with tension as they try to convince Ben that his children need to live a normal life.
What comes through so beautifully in Ross' story is Ben's unconditional love for his children even if his ways of showing it aren't always appropriate. I found it disturbing that he gifted his 8-year old daughter with a hunting knife for her birthday but even more disturbing was her unabashed joy at receiving the gift. I also was fascinated by the somewhat savage behavior of the children, especially at the beginning of the story. They are observed reacting to certain situations more like animals than human beings.
The film is handsomely mounted, with some stunning cinematography, film editing and sound. Viggo Mortensen once again proves he's one of the most underrated actors in the business with a gritty and heartbreaking performance that earned him his second Oscar nomination. Also loved Kathryn Hahn and Steve Zahn as Ben's sister and brother-in-law and the classy turn by Frank Langella as Ben's father-in-law. Also deserving mention are the performances of George McKay and Nicholas Hamilton as Ben's sons, Bodevan and Rellian. It's not exactly The Waltons, but it is a bold and gutsy film experience that pulls few punches and never apologizes for it and establishes Matt Ross as a filmmaker to watch .