Captain Fantastic (film)

Captain Fantastic
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Matt Ross
Produced by	Monica Levinson Jamie Patricof Shivani Rawat Lynette Howell Taylor
Written by	Matt Ross
Starring	Viggo Mortensen Frank Langella Kathryn Hahn Steve Zahn
Music by	Alex Somers
Cinematography	Stéphane Fontaine
Edited by	Joseph Krings
Production company	Electric City Entertainment ShivHans Pictures
Distributed by	Bleecker Street
Release dates	January 23, 2016 (2016-01-23) (Sundance) July 8, 2016 (2016-07-08) (United States)
Running time	118 minutes[1]
Country	United States
Language	English
Box office	$9 million[2]

Captain Fantastic is a 2016 American comedy-drama film written and directed by Matt Ross and starring Viggo Mortensen. The story centers on a family who is forced by circumstances to reintegrate into society after living in isolation for a decade.

The film had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on January 23, 2016.^[3] It was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival.^[4][5] It was theatrically released on July 8, 2016, by Bleecker Street.^[6]

Plot

In the forests of the Pacific Northwest, Ben Cash raises his six children off the grid by himself after his wife, Leslie, was hospitalized for bipolar disorder. Ben and Leslie became disillusioned with capitalism and American life and chose to instill survivalist skills and philosophy in their children. Ben, though a loving father, is also extremely strict with the children maintaining physical exercise and education by reading extensive texts ranging from foreign language to quantum mechanics. The children, except for teen son Rellian, are accepting of this lifestyle.

The children wonder when their mother will return from the hospital, but Ben is evasive. While Ben and eldest child Bodevan make a routine trip into town, Bodevan finds multiple college acceptance letters in the mail, but keeps this information private. Ben learns on a call to his sister Harper that Leslie committed suicide the previous night. Ben breaks the news to his family, who react with shock and grief. Ben calls his estranged father-in-law Jack to discuss Leslie's wish for a cremation. Jack replies that Leslie will be buried, and Ben is not welcome at the funeral. Ben refuses to travel to the funeral, despite the children's wishes to go, out of fear of being arrested. Though Rellian breaks his hand while rock climbing, Ben refuses to offer aid and instead orders his son to keep climbing.

Seeing how his children are grieving, Ben takes them on a road trip to crash the funeral, where they get their first glimpses of city life. They confront an inquisitive police officer, leave without ordering at a local diner due to Ben's disgust with the menu, and steal food from a supermarket while Ben fakes a heart attack. Ben, considering Christmas to be nonsense, instead celebrates "Noam Chomsky Day," giving the children various weapons as gifts.

The family eventually arrives at Harper's house and shares a dinner with her family. Tensions explode at dinner over clashing ideas about whether Ben's children should have been given the details of their mother's death (by suicide); Harper storms out in tears. The following morning, Harper and her husband argue that Ben's children should be in school to learn real things but Ben counters by demonstrating that her sons lack basic understanding of the Bill of Rights. The family continues on to a caravan park, where Bodevan has his first interaction with a girl his own age. Although Bodevan lacks social skills, the two share a kiss, and Bodevan quickly proposes marriage. She laughs it off, leaving Bodevan dejected.

The family arrives late for Leslie's funeral, in flamboyant outfits. Ben interrupts the service, reading from Leslie's will, indicating her wish for a musical celebration and cremation followed by her ashes being flushed down a toilet. Jack has Ben forcefully removed. Jack and his wife meet some of their grandchildren for the first time, and Ben is warned to stay away from the burial. Ben attempts to crash the graveside service but relents after his children talk him out of it.

Rellian later tells Bodevan that he often overheard their parents arguing over their lifestyle choice, and Ben refused to change course even after Leslie began having mental health problems. Bodevan confronts his father with the college acceptance letters. Ben is proud but betrayed by Bodevan's rejection of the independent lifestyle that he has tried to teach. Their debate is cut short by news that Rellian has fled to Jack's mansion. Rellian tells his father that he wishes to live with his grandparents. Jack tells Ben that he and his wife will seek custody of Ben's children.

In an attempt by Ben and his other children to 'rescue' Rellian, daughter Vespyr is injured after falling from the roof of Jack's house. She is rushed to a hospital, where a doctor explains that she'll suffer no long term disability but could easily have been paralyzed or killed. Acknowledging the danger that he places his children in, Ben has the family stay with Jack. The children bond with their grandparents, and Ben comes to understand Jack. Ben departs, supposedly alone on his empty bus, but finds the children had stowed away, and they all reconcile.

The children tell Ben that they still wish to honor Leslie's funeral wishes. Ben is convinced when Rellian quotes Chomsky. That night, they dig up Leslie's body and travel to a nearby beach, build a pyre, and cremate the body. Ben pays his last respects and they serenade their mother's memory by singing and playing "Sweet Child o' Mine". At the airport, Leslie's ashes are flushed down a toilet, and the family sees Bodevan off on a flight where he may find his place in the world.

Later, the rest of the family are shown living on a farm. Although they adhere to Ben's education and philosophy of life, the children are also attending school and are content.

Cast

Production

The idea of the movie started for Mark Ross as he began questioning the choices he and his wife were making as parents. From there he wondered what would happen if he were "completely present" in his children's lives, while noting that modern technology had made that difficult.^[7] In making the film Ross also took autobiographical bits from his own life, notably being raised in what he terms as an "alternative-living communities" growing up.^[7]

Viggo Mortensen was cast in February 2014^[8][8] That June, it was announced that George MacKay, Annalise Basso, Samantha Isler, Nicholas Hamilton, Shree Crooks and newcomer Charlie Shotwell had also been cast.^[9] With much of the rest of the cast joining that July and August.^[10][11]

Filming

Principal photography on the film commenced in July 2014, in Western Washington.^[12]

Release

In July 2014, eOne Entertainment acquired international distribution rights to the film.^[13] In August 2014, it was announced that Bleecker Street would distribute the film in the United States.^[14] The film had its world premiere at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival on January 23, 2016.^[3][15] The film was released on July 8, 2016.^[6] The film was aired in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival, with Matt Ross winning the Best Director prize.^[16]

Reception

Captain Fantastic has received positive reviews from critics. On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 81%, based on 160 reviews, with an average rating of 7.1/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Captain Fantastic's thought-provoking themes—and an absorbing starring turn from Viggo Mortensen—add up to an above-average family drama with unexpected twists."^[17] On Metacritic, the film holds a rating of 72 out of 100, based on 36 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".^[18] It received a ten-minute standing ovation at Cannes.^[19]

Alonso Duralde of The Wrap gave the film a positive review, saying "The movie really belongs to Mortensen, who allows Ben to be exasperating, arrogant and impatient but also warm, loving and caring. He’s a tough but adoring father, a grieving widower and an angry defender of his wife’s final wishes, and Mortensen plays all these notes and more with subtlety and grace".^[20] Peter Debruge of Variety gave the film a positive review, saying "Boasting half a dozen impressive youth performances alongside a leading role that takes full advantage of Mortensen’s own sensitive, back-to-nature spirit, Captain Fantastic easily ranks among the most polished and relatable of this year’s Sundance offerings."^[21]

One of the few negative reviews was from Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian. He wrote in his 1*/5 review: "There’s a meaty whiff of phoney-baloney in this fatuous and tiresome movie, replete with forced emotional crises and wrong notes, topped off with an excruciatingly unearned, sentimental ending. It's a low-cal version of Peter Weir’s 1986 movie The Mosquito Coast, starring someone who is essentially a cross between Charles Manson and Captain von Trapp."^[22]

Notes

The film has nothing to do with the Elton John song and album.

Accolades

References

External links

• Official website
• Captain Fantastic at the Internet Movie Database
• Captain Fantastic at Box Office Mojo
• Captain Fantastic at Metacritic
• Captain Fantastic at Rotten Tomatoes