Captain Fantastic is an interesting movie. Written and directed by Matt Ross, it stars Viggo Mortensen as Ben, a man living in the forest with his six kids. He tries to raise them all alone, as their mother and his wife are in the hospital. We later hear of the mother committed suicide in the hospital (this is going to be important later) The family now embarks on a journey across the US to “save” the mother and send her off the right way.
The movie opens with some beautiful tracking shots of nature. There is no music, only the sounds of the forest. Everything is ideal, peaceful, and quiet. The audience is then snapped out of this tranquil state as a deer is being killed by the oldest boy Bodevan. (played by George MacKay) He slights its trout and blood starts to splat everywhere. Ben then makes some sort of ritual and says that the boy is gone and that he is now a man.
This is a great way to start the film. It sets the tone with a tone shift and the audience is now more engaged since they don’t know what can or will happen throughout the film. The opening scene is great. It made me wonder if the movie was supposed to be a coming of age story or a man vs nature story. Well, it’s both, but not in the traditional way.
In fact, the first 20% of the film is excellent. It shows how they live in the forest. Hunting and gathering food. It shows them training hard everyday. They read an enormous amount of books where they have to make presentations on the material.
The kids are in peak condition. They know how to fight, they can navigate via the stars, they hunt and they are very smart. They have reached this condition by being isolated from society and only focusing on self improvement.
Everything is dictated by Ben. He is in control of everything they do. What they read, when they train, when they play music. ‘
Ben then receives a message that his wife has killed herself. When he conveys this to the kids he does not sugarcoat it. He simply says that their mother has killed herself in the hospital. This is a theme throughout the film. He is unusually blunt with his kids. He is telling them the truth at all times. He even lets them have wine at some point. This seems a little odd since he is so strict with their training and homework, but so loose with conversation. At one point Ben lets them mountain climb in the rain, one of his kids (Rellian) slips and breaks his hand. Despite him clearly being in pain, Ben simply says that he has to get up himself since he can’t rely on anyone to come and help him.
Upon hearing the news regarding their mother the kids all get sad, except for Rellian. He gets super mad and starts stabbing a piece of furniture with a knife, all while screaming and yelling. This kid does seem a little more aggressive, he seems like the kind of kid that gets angry quickly.
Since their mother was a Buddhist (because of course, she was) Her final wish was to be cremated and not buried in a Christian ceremony. What do you know? It turns out her father Jack, played by the always excellent Frank Langella, wishes to bury her, Christian style. Thus they all embark on the mission “save mom” to make sure her ashes get flushed down the toilet.
Doing their journey one thing becomes clear, this is a societal critique of the United States. The smallest child wonders why so many people are fat. She wonders if it’s because they are sick. Furthermore, they keep pointing out problems with “the system” and how it’s better to live in the wild. Ben even says that hospitals are for people who really want to die.
They critique capitalism and consumerism in favor of a Marxist ideology. Bodavan tells his father how he is not a Marxist anymore, but a Maoist. The youngest daughter has a picture of Pol Pot on her wall. To call them left leaning is an understatement. And they celebrate Noam Chomsky’s birthday as a holiday.
At one point they visit their mother’s sister and her husband. Their children are always on their phones or playing games. Ben illustrates at one point how stupid they are compared to his own children. The two parts also clash over Ben’s bluntness to his children. Saying that there is something they should not hear since they can’t understand them well enough.
The viewer has to consider which parenting style is best. There is no question that his children are fitter, healthier, stronger, and smarter than all other children their age.
The critique does not stop there. When they finally arrive at the funeral Ben stands up in front of everyone critiquing religion in his speech.
So yeah, Ben has raised 8 kids to be some kind of superhuman. They all seem to love him and one can’t argue with his results. I guess there is nothing more to say, is there? I mean only one of the kids really dislikes him and that is Rellian and he was mad from the start.
Here is the thing, the movie would not be good if they only had one perspective on everything. Gradually we see that the way Ben does things is not necessarily optimal. For instance, Bodevan is having trouble talking to girls his own age. He later confronts his father and says that if something is not from a book he does not know it. He feels like a freak, he says that he does not know anything about anything.
Some knowledge can not be obtained from books. To understand the world, one must have to experience it. By having sheltered them in nature, they seem less fit to operate in the real world.
Rellian runs away from home to stay with his grandfather Jack. In trying to get him back the oldest daughter falls down a roof and has to be hospitalized. Now the hospital that Ben criticized so much initially is the only way to save his daughter.
Thinking back, isn’t it strange that the mother killed herself in the hospital? This seemingly trivial detail is suddenly very important. The film reveals that the mother was not that well and that she struggles with mental health. Rellian claims that it was Ben who drove her insane. A damning acquisition indeed, the film doesn’t give us the answer outright. Keep in mind that Ben made Rellian climb a mountain in the rain with a broken hand.
Having pushed Rellian away. His oldest son feels like a freak. His oldest daughter almost died. While having driven his wife to suiced. It all becomes clear that Captain Fantastic is not so fantastic.
In the end, when Ben and Rellian make up, Rellian says. “I don’t hate you. I just wish you would have helped mom” and Ben answers “so do I” this is a very subtle way of indicating that, maybe he did have something to do with her suicide, then again maybe not.
The movie ends with Ben, sending Bodevan out into the world in a scene reminiscent of the beginning of the movie.
The remaining kids go back to their new home with Ben, and while they still live in nature, they have all been a little more civilized. They live in a hybrid of the natural world and the civilized world.
It would seem that the film indicates that we need the best of both worlds.