Captain Fantastic (2016, R)

I’m glad Viggo Mortensen got a Best Actor nomination for this film, so I could learn of its existence.  It’s wonderfully fascinating, populated by intriguing characters whose unique world is so unlike that of pretty much anyone likely to be watching this movie.  I was really taken with it as a whole.

Ben and his wife have been raising their six children in isolation in the woods.  There, they’ve learned everything from survival skills (hunting, fighting, climbing, lighting a fire) to self-sufficiency (making many of their own clothes/shelters/tools) to philosophy, government, and literature.  However, Ben’s wife has been away for several months, in a mental health facility back in civilization, and Ben has just received word that she’s died.  Determined to attend her funeral and make sure her final wishes are brought to bear, Ben and the children venture into the “real world,” where the kids are overwhelmed by everything they encounter there.

The family and their wilderness home is so superbly realized.  I love every detail of it:  their hodgepodge clothes, their hair adorned with flowers and feathers, the daily “training” they undergo, the odd mix of strict regiment and utter freedom in their lives, the kids’ frank questions and Ben’s uncensored answers.  Even though I’ve never met anyone who was raised as these children are, somehow their characterization feels just right.  Somewhere between scholars, hippies, soldiers, tribesmen, and revolutionaries.  Unhindered and yet rather hobbled by the incredibly-specific view of the world they’ve been taught.  Smart and strong and fearless but without a hint of disguise in their emotions.  In only two hours, the film creates an entirely-convincing family unit, immersing the viewer in the life they’ve led.  When they make the trip into society – in their eyes, full of so much bewilderment, temptation, and danger – things get really engrossing.

Viggo Mortensen leads the young brood as the fierce, single-minded Ben.  Because he’s so intrinsically tied to the upbringing the kids have had, he becomes instantly complex – the children’s lives are brutal and limiting, but they’re stunning and luminous, too, and so Ben himself is both extraordinary and terrible.  A couple familiar faces among the kids.  George MacKay, who played Joe in the excellent Pride, is the oldest son Bodevan.  I knew I recognized Annalise Basso as daughter Vespyr, and it turns out she had a guest spot on Nikita playing a girl who also received intense, isolating “training” at a young age.  I don’t know any of the other young actors, but every last one of them is great.  And over in civilization, we have appearances from Frank Langella, Steve Zahn, and Missi Pyle.

Warnings

Language, sexual references and brief nudity, violence, drinking, and thematic elements.