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While skimming through the cinema listings, one could be forgiven for dismissing Captain Fantastic as the latest in a seemingly endless onslaught of superhero films. Don’t be fooled, as Captain Fantastic is the antithesis of Captain America and its ilk.
The film focuses on Ben Cash (Viggo Mortensen) as he raises his six children in the wilderness of the Pacific Northwest. Removed from society, they are home-schooled and flourishing both intellectually and physically. The establishing shots introduce a verdant landscape filled with the sound of birdsong. Early scenes are visually resplendent, and credit must go to the set and costume designers for their part in bringing this idyllic vision to life. From these initial scenes, one might expect the film to be a homage to the beauty of nature and isolation. However, Captain Fantastic is a film with its focus firmly on human society. Here, fantastic refers to the incredible capacities of an ordinary person – no superpowers required – and the film’s premise provides an apt stage for an exploration of the human condition.
The message seems clear: the human capacity for greatness is enormous, but so is contemporary society’s ability to hinder it. Creative licence is taken to depict the Cash family’s lifestyle as borderline utopian, as they not only survive but thrive in what surely must be a harsher environment than the film implies. As the family is drawn into the realm of “civilised” society, director Matt Ross pitches the opposing lifestyles against each other to offer a sharp social commentary. The criticism is directed nominally at America, but could be applied to wealthy Western countries in general. Consumerist culture, obesity and a generation’s obsession with video games and smartphones are all lambasted. As the film progresses, however, it is Mortensen’s Ben Cash and the world he has created that comes under increasing criticism.
The subject matter affords plenty of room for quirkiness in what is ultimately a very funny film. From children discussing M-theory around a campfire to a full-frontal nude Mortensen outside a camper van, Captain Fantastic isn’t short of laugh-out-loud moments. Between these scenes, Ross focuses on conveying their forest lifestyle and how it teeters between absurdity and normality, as well as between a dangerous, unforgiving existence and an admirable one. Brilliant performances bring a satisfying complexity to the characters of the Cash children, who are simultaneously highly intelligent and incredibly naive. The frank dialogue makes their irreverent take on a whole host of societal issues not only entertaining, but convincing. In particular, actor George McKay excels as Bodevan, the eldest of the Cash siblings, but all the young actors bring an acute awareness and emotional depth to every scene they are part of.
Captain Fantastic sparkles with life and vibrancy. Days after seeing the film, I still caught myself thinking about the questions it raised. It leaves no shortage of material for discussion on the way home from the cinema. Whether Ben Cash deserves the title of “Captain Fantastic”, there is little doubt the film itself is worthy of that superlative.
