Seeing the movie Captain Fantastic taught me two things. First, sometimes your expectations for a movie can be too high that no matter what, the movie will not reach those heights. Secondly, having to pee at the end of a movie really makes the ending drag on, especially when the movie feels like it has three different points at which it could have ended.
Captain Fantastic is an indie drama starring Viggo Mortensen as Ben, a father who is trying to raise his six kids while his wife is in the hospital. Ben's family isn't your typical family though, they live in the middle of the forest just outside of Seattle, Washington. One day, Ben learns that his wife has passed away, but his father-in-law does not want him to go to the funeral. If Ben does go to the funeral, he will be arrested on the spot and his kids will be taken from him. That threat does not stop the kids from wanting to go to the funeral, so Ben and the kids hop on their bus and drive down to New Mexico. Will this road trip bring the family closer together through this hard time or will Ben lose those that mean the world to him, his kids?
The performances in Captain Fantastic are what stand out the most. Viggo Mortensen was truly mesmerizing. Viggo brings this warmth and emotionally relatable energy to his character. Whenever he is on screen, you never want to see him leave it. You get emotionally connected to Ben and that's because Viggo never makes him feel like a character on the screen, but rather a friend or a family member. Viggo also elevates those around him. The actors and actresses playing his kids are fairly inexperienced and some are pretty young. Not once during the movie did the kids feel out of place around Viggo. They felt like they were his actual kids and that they were a real family going through this tough time.
I also really enjoyed watching the family dynamic, especially at the beginning of the movie. It was great to see how Ben was teaching his kids to survive in the forest. Seeing how they each had to perform daily chores for the family to thrive. Seeing them all get pushed to their physical and emotional limits and their father being their to support them every step of the way. Later on in the movie, you get to see how these teachings may help in the forest, but in the real world, the kids still have a lot to learn. In one scene, the family is at a restaurant and the kids have no idea what Coca-Cola is and Ben just tells them "It's poison water".
If I had to pick something I didn't like about Captain Fantastic, it would have to be the pacing. It's hard to describe, but at times I felt like something would happen and suddenly the flow of the movie would be off. Once scene in particular that did this was when they rob a grocery store. I don't know why but that scene just felt off. It didn't feel like something the family would actually do. Also the movie felt like it wanted to end multiple times. Something would happen that normally would seem like a perfect ending to a movie, but then it just keeps going. Then you reach another perfect time to end and it continues to keep going. I can see how it helps to answer some questions that the audience may have, but sometimes we don't need to know everything.
Captain Fantastic was an extremely enjoyable movie that is funny, touching, original and thought-provoking. The performances by Viggo Mortensen and the kids were outstanding. The family dynamic was a joy to watch. Emotionally, this movie didn't reach the heights I was hoping for and I think thats do to some pacing issues at the end. I still think you should see Captain Fantastic. Movies like this need to be seen so they can continue to be made.
3 1/2 out of 5 Stars
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