Captain Fantastic (film)
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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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." |
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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.
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 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 hospital, where a doctor explains that she'll suffer no long term disability but was incredibly lucky and 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. 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.
