Captain Fantastic (2016)

User Review

• 

  BarneyNuttall

  8 / 10

  Captain Fantastic is a film with a unique perspective, an array of timely messages and a whole lot of heart. With an Andersonian inspired aesthetic, Captain Fantastic echoes Little Miss Sunshine in its critique of American culture from the perspective of a broken family.
  
  Viggo Mortensen portrays the broken but loving Ben, a father of six children of which he's survivalist training in the mountains of Oregon. However, when some sad news reaches the family, they must venture out into 21st century America which proves to be a place of simultaneous dangers and joys.
  
  Captain Fantastic offers a bohemian perspective which some may call unfathomably hyperbolic. But, I tend to disagree. One would think that seeing a father force his children into extremely precarious situations (rock climbing in the rain for example) would create a character of immense dislike. Yet, I found myself agreeing with all that Ben believes in. Sure, as his father in law argues, the children are in danger and could get hurt. Yet, lying to one's children about the dangers of the world and of capitalist America, hiding the dark corners of Earth from a child to create a crystal facade, is arguably an equally harmful pursuit.
  
  Thus, here lies the central question of Captain Fantastic. Is there a middle ground? The clashing of these two worlds, in an effort to answer this question lead to events that are both hilarious and tragic. The film is a black comedy with a deeply melancholic core, highlighted in Mortensen's performance.
  
  While the film seems to perhaps falter in its final push towards an answer, Captain Fantastic remains a deeply moving film with a blend of comedy and tragedy keeping it fresh. The film is a celebration of the strange, celebrating how each of us lives our lives in a world which increasingly encourages us to live it their way.

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