Initially, while watching them do outdoor activities, we thought they were camping. But it was not. They are camping, but their camper is a lifelong camper. True, they settled in the wild where daily necessities are taken directly from nature.
On the surface, Ben (Viggo Mortensen) must look like a madman. He does not celebrate Christmas, but commemorates the birthday of a philosopher. He is also an authoritarian leader of some kind of radical who may virtually force his six children to live and live in the forest, away from civilization. The way he acknowledges the boy's maturity is when they are able to hunt and slaughter the deer with their own hands ... using a military-level knife that he gives as a birthday gift. Yeah, he's that sly.
But Ben is not crazy. He is an intelligent man and a loving father who teaches all the essential knowledge and skills for his children. His version of sports education starts from running in the forest to climbing steep cliffs that can endanger lives. Every child has a qualified survival. Although they are solitary in the forest, they may have greater insight than us; Their chats range from the ideology of Marxism, quantum theory to classical literature. Oh, and they also master a variety of languages as well as some musical instruments.
Captain Fantastic is a family-focused film away from the world, isolated from modernization. This is a film whose premise is already a satire against modern society. Consumerism, capitalism and materialism are the poison of the world. But the writer and director, Matt Ross injects the film with enough sincerity and emotion. The film contains a throw-up of smart nan quotable sentences. And despite the artsy narrative concept, this film is a crowdpleaser movie with beautiful pictures from cinematographer Stephane Fontaine, especially the story of being in Ben's "home".
The question is: is this radical lifestyle the right choice for the children? The conflict lighter from Captain Fantastic is at the death of Ben's wife, Leslie who Ben told his children bluntly; their bipolar mother slashed her own arm. Leslie's will was for her ashes to be thrown through the toilets (seriously!), So Ben and his children climbed onto the school buses that were used as family cars, and set out on their way to a normal human world.
The film is basically a road-trip movie, about how those who live isolated suddenly have to deal with reality. The plot points give the situation for us to get to know this eccentric family dynamics further. The eldest son is Bodevan (George MacKay). Other children also have names that seem to be derived from a random name generator, including Nai (Charlie Shotwell), Rellian (Nicholas Hamilton), Zaja (Shree Crooks), Kielyr (Samantha Isler), and Vespyr (Annalise Basso). There are sequences where they steal at the supermarket in a slick and funny way. Bo who first encounters his peers, naturally nervous. And when he finished kissing, he suddenly intends to propose to the girl.
Although likely to side with Ben, but Ross highlighted the advantages and disadvantages of this hippies lifestyle. While these children do have a high level of practical and intellectual ability, but what is the best choice to separate them from the world and prevent them from knowing, making friends or dating? Well lho Ben. How can they build their own families if they are not good at socializing?
Along the way, Ben's visit to his sister's family home (Kathryn Hahn) gives a spark. Together with her husband (Steve Zahn), they raise a child who considers Ben's children as ancient human beings as Ben's children label him a dumb Xbox addict.
Frank Langella plays Leslie's father, who blames Ben for grabbing his children and grandchildren, and therefore forbids Ben to visit the cemetery, let alone bring Leslie's ashes. Ross does not position him as a slave of modernization, but you know like normal grandfathers who have sincere concerns over the safety of his grandchildren. His wife (Ann Dowd) is more understanding of Ben.
The cast of these children played solidly and created a convincing family impression. Each character has a unique personal quality. Bo and Rellian got a more striking portion. Bo was secretly graduated for a college scholarship at a famous college; facts that were kept secret from his father because he knew Ben would go berserk. Rellian who is a bit rebellious and younger than Bo, begins to question his father's perspective.
But this movie belongs to Ben, and Mortensen displays well the balance between arrogance and idealism with love. He is a reckless person who is unmitigated in principle, but then also realizes that his extreme lifestyle can harm his children at any time.
With all his provocations, I think Captain Fantastic will take a sharper path, but Ross prefers to compromise. He does not slap us with allusions to modern society, but makes it the basis for a warm-hearted family story that, though I'm sure, will touch your heart thanks to the right emotional manipulation.