Captain fantastic5/11/2023 It's evident that self-sufficiency, intelligence and family loyalty are crucial to Ben's approach an approach that is challenged when circumstances require the family board their Partridge Family bus (named Steve) and take a cross-country road trip into a civilization that doesn't know what to make of them (and vice-versa). Each evening is capped off with an impromptu musical jam. The family carries out a daily ritual that includes extreme physical conditioning, lessons on survival and living off the land, and advanced education that includes reading such diverse material as Dostoevsky and Lolita. Each family member is covered head-to-toe in mud and other means of camouflage, and the oldest son Bodevan (George MacKay) takes the lead with his knife in what is presented as a rite of passage into manhood. We are first introduced to Ben (Viggo Mortensen) and his six kids as they are stalking a deer while deep in the Pacific Northwest forest only this isn't your buddy's weekend deer hunting trip. ![]() Writer/director Matt Ross offers up a creative, entertaining and thought-provoking story of one family's unconventional approach in a world that seems to expect and accept only the conventional. There seems to be no end to the theories on how to be an effective parent and raise kids who are productive, well-adjusted and successful. ![]() Captain Fantastic takes a piece out of you.Greetings again from the darkness. The film doesn’t take sides, but it does fairly, subtly and movingly represent them. He gets under the skin of this loving father who is unafraid to face the world naked and yet touchingly ready to grapple by the possibility that his arrogant, free spirit might actually do harm to his children. And Mortensen is just magnificent: His performance standing with his career-best work in The Lord of the Rings, A History of Violence and Eastern Promises. Langella is stellar at finding layers in the role of the strict father. MacKay, as the son who dreams of college and discovery, has a first-kiss moment that explodes stereotype. Still, it’s the actors who make us believe. The film’s authenticity extends to the natural-light cinematography of the gifted Stéphane Fontaine ( A Prophet) and the crisp editing of Joseph Krings ( Drunk Stoned Brilliant Dead). But Ross never trades in the humanity of his characters for an easy laugh or tear. It’s true that the conflict is drawn on familiar lines with clichés ever ready to invade. They’ve educated their kids in the arts, practical and intellectual readings range from quantum theory to Lolita, with nights by the campfire spent making music with guitars and harmonicas. Besides Bodevan, there are sons Nai (Charlie Shotwell) and Rellian (Nicholas Hamilton), along with teen daughters Zaja (Shree Crooks), Kielyr (Samantha Isler) and Vespyr (Annalise Basso). Ben and his wife Leslie (Trin Miller) have blessed - or burdened - their children with made-up names. In the opening scene, Ben initiates his eldest son, Bodevan (British actor George MacKay), into the ritual of the hunt and other survivalist skills. Mortensen stars as Ben, the rugged individualist who raises his brood of six in the Pacific Northwest far from the concrete jungles of civilization. Written and directed with scrappy grace by Matt Ross (an actor best known for playing vengeful CEO Gavin Belson of HBO’s Silicon Valley), Captain Fantastic takes turns you don’t see coming. Viggo Mortensen is at the top of his game in this family dramedy, shot through with humor and heart.
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