Ross’ ‘Captain Fantastic’ a utopian flirt
Print Edition
“CAPTAIN Fantastic” is about the fantasy of being able to create a perfect world for your children, and the crushing realization that such control is ultimately impossible. Ben (Viggo Mortensen) pursues this ideal in a particularly extreme way by removing his family from society altogether and creating his own little utopia in the Pacific Northwest wilderness.
We meet the family in the midst of a hunt. They’re all covered in camouflaging mud. The eldest, Bo (George MacKay), slaughters an animal, and Ben tells him that he is a man now. Primitive though the ritual may be, this family is not. Far from it. They are survivalist philosopher kings — highly educated and extremely self-sufficient.
Ranging in age from single digits to late teens, the six children, Nai (Charlie Shotwell), Zaja (Shree Crooks), Rellian (Nicholas Hamilton, who resembles young River Phoenix), Vespyr (Annalise Basso), Kielyr (Samantha Isler) and Bo have been molded in Ben’s very specific image. And, for the most part, they worship their father and their lifestyle.
The casting director should win an award for finding these truly excellent young performers, who shine alongside the always wonderful Mortensen.
But the cracks are starting to show in this little family unit, and not just because normal hormones and attitudes are emerging. “I’m not a Trotskyist any more. I’m a Maoist!” Bo said in an angsty teenage huff at one point.
No, there is something more serious festering. Their mother, Leslie (Trin Miller), has been away for three months, hospitalized with severe depression. The kids miss her dearly, and her absence is becoming an issue. But we never get the chance to really meet her. Ben finds out early in the film that she’s killed herself.
The film veers into cloying sentimentality a little too often. But, that also just means that there’s room for his character to grow too.
“Captain Fantastic” is the second feature from writer-director Matt Ross, who is currently best known for his acting. Ross plays the tech titan Gavin Belson on HBO’s “Silicon Valley.”
I imagine a film of the caliber of “Captain Fantastic” is bound to change that — this is no flash in the pan success. It’s a realized vision with edge.
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