Captain Fantastic

“It’s a penis. Every man has one.”

Director	Year	Genre	Run time	Rating
Matt Ross	2016	Drama, Comedy	114 min

Captain Fantastic is a movie about extreme characters, risk-takers who lives deep in the woods with the modus operandi stick it to the man, characters well versed in the deep things that matter, such as politics, philosophy and art, characters who read Lolita for pleasure, and, like the ancient Greeks, compliment their sharp minds with fit bodies. These characters wouldn’t like the film their in, which, despite being good, is slightly sugarcoated and often more concerned with being cute and quirky than deep.

The film follows Ben Cash (Viggo Mortensen), who raises his six children in the forests of the Pacific Northwest. Their mother is hospitalized for bipolar disorder but dies early in the film, which sends the family on a road trip in the family bus, Steve, to attend the funeral. Along the way, encounters with various family members prove difficult due to their conflicting life philosophies.

The film’s concept is hugely compelling. In a time where obesity is a global health concern, where attention spans seem to shrink every day, and where kids wander through museums looking for Pokémons, Captain Fantastic is a strong wake-up call that shows what values we all can aspire to. It not only makes us reflect on what kind of people we want to become, but also on what future generations we’re creating.

A compelling and thought-provoking concept is a good starting point, but what matters is how far a film takes its concept. In Captain Fantastic the answer is far, but not far enough. The film’s best half-hour stretch arrives two-thirds through, when it criticizes Ben’s parenting and reveals that the opposing family members aren’t villains, but rightfully concerned people. Frank Langella, who plays the father of Ben’s departed wife, strikes a great balance here, and writer/director Matt Ross deftly let’s the audience’s sympathies jump around.

But only for a period of time. Just after the film peaks, it starts back-pedalling. Five minutes after delivering the film’s most potent shot (a starkly framed empty bus), it renders the same shot meaningless.

The film suffers from the same cuteness problem as Little Miss Sunshine. So many modern independent films choke in this  cotton candy atmosphere; a combination of lens flares, idiosyncratic costumes and ever-present uplifting music* that constantly promises the audience that everything will be all right. It’s not that these films need darker plots, it’s that they need to let us experience their darker moments more fully. Their stylistic flourishes sands the edges off the drama.

*The composer is Alex Somers, the boyfriend of the lead singer of the spectacular Icelandic band Sigur Rós. You can feel the musical similarities, but where Sigur Rós often leans toward the more weird and spiritual, Somers goes for something more catchy, rather reminiscent of M83. The music is beautiful, but director Alex Ross relies too much on it to constantly tug at the audience’s emotions.

The drama is further hurt by some unfortunate script moments that sacrifice character authenticity to create a specific moment. Captain Fantastic is the kind of film where characters occasionally shout at each other without reason, just to heighten the drama, but the louder they shout the less we feel.

The film ultimately works despite itself. It may get many specifics wrong, but it gets the fundamentals right. There’s a good story here, filled with good characters and great performances. Viggo Mortensen shines as the lead, who I suspect share many of Mortensen’s personal views. This is a good film with important things on its mind, even if it doesn’t go terribly deep with its ideas. It’s just a shame that a film about people taking chances plays it so safe.

Links:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3553976/combined

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Captain_Fantastic_(film)#Reception

https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/captain_fantastic/

http://www.metacritic.com/movie/captain-fantastic

http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=captainfantastic.htm