imperfection is perfection
Sporadic film reviews by a wanna-be filmmaker
CAPTAIN FANTASTIC (2016)
Directed by Matt Ross
Written by Matt Ross
Starring: Viggo Mortensen, George MacKay, Samantha Isler, Frank Langella, Kathryn Hahn
Captain Fantastic is almost the perfect comedy, with a great variety of humour, drama, and infinitely interesting philosophical angles that make you think. It is perhaps the best comedy of the year, and it only needs a simple story to deliver a thoroughly unique movie, especially within the increasingly crude world of comedy.
Ben raises his kids in the woods. They have a strict training regiment, learn survival techniques, and are schooled by Ben, with an extremely leftist stance on… pretty much everything. This eccentric characteristic is what kicks the humour into gear, as we get to know his family and how they live. What they read, how their family functions. It is incredibly interesting, and tempting to live like that! To truly be off the grid, independent. It’s gotta feel good.
But of course, a tragic occurrence forces the family back into the civilised world. It begins in a funny way, as the children react to this new world as they ride Ben’s bus-turned-campervan, which is named Steve. “The prices are insane!!” Ben exclaims as they drive past a shopping mall, delivering his anti-capitalism speech to his kids and nailing it. I’m with ya buddy, I lean just a little to the left myself.
Perhaps the best thing about this film is that it is a comedy for people who don’t have a head full of bricks. If you have no interest or thoughts on basic philosophy, this film will be lost on you. Many of the jokes bank on the viewer having formed a philosophic opinion of their own, especially Ben’s disdain for capitalism and his penchant for Noam Chomsky, noted and opinionated leftist and social commentator.
Another exceptional quality of the film is its depth. It mixes drama and comedy seamlessly, and the comedy is varied. Much of it comes from the family’s clashes with modern culture, which is a constant for much of the film, but there are many laughs in other ways, as the script is as tight as my snare drum, delivering humour and philosophic, thought-provoking conversations with almost rapid-fire delivery, even by the child actors.
Which brings me to how great these child actors all are. Especially the youngest, whose lines about what she has been taught by Ben are just so much fun to watch, especially when they visit Ben’s family in the city and we see the incredible difference between Ben’s kids and what I assume are his nephews. Viggo is of course excellent, with perfect comedic timing and delivery, as well as displaying perfect chemistry within his family.
The story is simple but instantly intriguing, and given the philosophical layers the film possesses, a simple story is all that is needed. Arguably the humour lessens during the second half of the film, but it excels in so many other areas that it doesn’t matter. Oh, and did I mention the amazing cinematography? Or the memorable soundtrack?
This is the best comedy I have seen since The Wolf on Wall Street. Morons need not apply. This film amusingly and thoughtfully makes a statement on what really
is the best way to raise children in this era. Does it really matter that Ben’s children have no idea what Nike is, but do know what the bill of rights represents, and how to survive, right down to Ben’s youngest child? Ben doesn’t have the smoothest ride throughout the film, but you can’t help but root for the guy, and his family. Viggo, the layers, the child actors, the incredible script; it all equates to one of the best movies I have seen this year.
This one is worth a full sixer.
6/6
23 Comments on “CAPTAIN FANTASTIC (2016)”
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imperfection is perfection 
Good read Jordan. I just watched this too. I found myself enjoying the family’s company one minute and then rolling my eyes the next, though! The one thing I didn’t really buy was that the kids didn’t seem to know much about the ‘outside’ world – ie that video games are violent, that coca-cola exists, that you don’t need to propose to someone after kissing them. Seemed like a bit of a stretch to me. After all they do read a lot of books, and discuss things each evening, and it’s hard to imagine that such a pair of right-on parents wouldn’t at least explain certain things like that to their children, regardless of lifestyle. Anyway, that all said I did find it quite funny in places, and agree some of the photography is very nice. You definitely liked it a lot more than me!
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Those are some excellent points my friend, I had not thought of it but yeah, I can see what you are saying. I guess it was to emphasise just how isolated they were, though the proposal after one kiss was a bit of a stretch I agree! But I just loved this on so many other levels, and, well, it has Viggo, my admitted man-crush. Rocking that fantastic fuckin’ suit!! I want one!
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That suit is excellent. It reminds me of the country and western ‘nudie’ suits. I’d wear it!
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Nice, Jordan. I love philosophy and Viggo, so with your 6 pack approval, I’m excited to watch it. I value Stu’s opinion as well and notice his reservations. I wonder how I’ll feel about it? Thanks for the review.
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Yes Stu pointed out some excellent points, but comedy needs exaggeration – any comedian will tell you that right off the bat – and that is what we get with Viggo and his family. It is a ton of fun Cindy, I think you’ll love it
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Ahhh, I’m so happy to see how much you loved this one! This is definitely one of the most anticipated films of 2016 for me and I can’t wait to finally see it – I am actually on my way to the cinema at this very moment. 🙂 This was a great read (as always!) and I really hope I get around to writing my own review about it as soon as possible.
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Great to hear from you Veronika! 🙂
Yes it was one of my most anticipated too, and boy it delivers. Viggo is just the man, as far as I know this is his first comedy, but he does it all with ease
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This is probably my favourite film of 2016 so far! I mean, what a treat this was, I can’t wait to see it again 🙂 Viggo was born for this role, the kids were all magnificent and the story…ah, the story. It’s funny, it’s sad, deep and insightful… one of the best films about parenting I’ve ever seen. I ordered my parents to go see it and I’ve never seen my dad so excited about a film before, he just can’t stop talking about it 😀
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My Dad loved it too! So glad you liked this Veronika! Its one of my top films for the year too 😀
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I really liked this, and I really liked how much it made me think.
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Indeed. Me too, made me laugh and made me think. Not often that a comedy can pull that off, hence my comparison to Wolf…
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Hey Jordan! Wow, a full score. This is definitely a good one though I didn’t give as high a score as you did. There’s certainly a lot of drama as well as comedy here, and the story is thought provoking. My review is up btw 🙂
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I enjoyed reading this. Viggo Mortensen is one of those actors that is always reliable and I could watch in anything.
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Me too mate, he is most definitely my man-crush haha
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That’s a good man crush to have.
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hehe I think so too! 😀
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He’s a great actor and appears to be very cool.
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hell yeah, and he’s a poet, a photographer, a musician, he speaks at least five languages…. what’s not to love, eh?
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The guy is a jack-of-all trades. If acting ever dries up for him, he has a ton of options to fall back on.
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oh totally man!! I love to create, which is why I love the dude so much. He is on my wavelength, he wants to create for the sake of the art, not for the dollar signs. He is a man to look up to IMO
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Being creative is a big passion of mine too.
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