Captain Fantastic

**Spoiler Alert**

Director: Matt Ross/Starring: Viggo Mortensen, Frank Langella, Kathryn Hahn, Steve Zahn, and George MacKay

I came to Captain Fantastic; director Matt Ross' second feature film, expecting an annoying contribution to the insufferable quirky-family genre. Though I can't stomach the genre I found Ross' film to be touching at times and surprisingly engaging though the characters and situations are neatly conceived and executed. The film wraps everything in a digestible, easy-on-the-palate denouement that keeps real-life adversity at bay.

Set somewhere in present day Pacific Northwest, Captain Fantastic tells the story of a family living off the grid in their presumably edenic forest home. Ben (Viggo Morntensen), the father of six, rears his kids in an environment where food is grown and meat hunted and prepared. Reveille-like morning alarms rouse the kids for arduous, pre-meal exercise in the woods. Self-defense instruction and rock climbing round out the physical instruction while a sophisticated home-schooling system allows the kids to discuss Marx and Nabokov's Lolita. We also see the family meditating outdoors. Ben is no doomsday survivalist but more of a hippy with a curriculum whose focus is self-reliance and vigorous self-improvement. Though Ben's parenting seems unorthodox, we also see how his tough love makes the family a close knit group. During an evening around the campfire, Ben's impromptu guitar strumming inspires the others to pick up instruments, which leads to a spirited family jam.

We learn early on the mother was committed to a psychiatric hospital. We also learn Bo (George MacKay), Ben's oldest; has been hiding acceptance letters from his father from various Ivy League schools. We know his secret will only lead to discord later on, which it does.

After a trip into town aboard the family bus, Ben learns from his father-in-law Jack (Frank Langella) that his wife killed herself in the hospital. Blaming Ben for his daughter's death, he also forbids him to attend the funeral in New Mexico under the threat of arrest. He also doesn't hesitate to express his direct and forceful disdain for the way Ben raises his children.

Never sparing his children stark truths, Ben tells them that same night as they sit around the campfire that their mother is dead. Sobbing, the children ask to see their mother, only to be told they can't attend the funeral due to their grandfather's threat. Angry at their father, their pleas to see their mother's body are rebuffed until Ben defies his father-in-law's threat by setting out on the road to attend the funeral. Along the way (and throughout the film), Ben has vivid visions and dreams and memories of his wife.

While on the road, the sight of shopping malls and the endless sprawl of stores elicits Ben's critical comments about capitalism and rampant consumerism, which his kids digest and sometimes echo. We get some sense at how far removed the family is from mainstream culture during a stop at a diner. When the kids mention hot dogs, hamburgers and soda, Ben promptly leaves the diner with the family to go shopping for "real food" at a grocery store. But the shopping trip becomes a mock-military shoplifting operation that Ben refers to euphemistically as "liberating food." Why a father would allow their kids to steal food is explained later.

A sequence in the film where the family's oddball life is brought into sharp relief takes place during Ben's stop at his brother Dave's home. During a dinner with Dave (Steve Zahn), his wife Harper (Kathryn Hahn) and their two sons, Ben's youngest asks Harper if she killed the chicken she is serving. Her awkward, slightly embarrassed response later turns to indignation when Ben shares details about his wife's death. After she excuses herself from the table, Ben surprises his brother when he serves each of his kids wine. Justifying his action to his brother, Ben refers to its accepted practice in other countries.

Dave's two sons express disbelief when the Ben's children's ignorance of pop culture is made embarrassingly manifest. Later, Dave and Harper confront Ben about what they see as excessive permissiveness in his parenting. In one of the film's most startling scenes, Ben proves a point about his sophisticated parenting when he quizzes Dave and Harper's sons about the Bill of Rights (they are woefully ignorant) before doing the same with his youngest (his grasp is exceptional). Whatever value judgement the viewer assigns Ben's parenting, the scene makes a case for rigorous education.

Though the family is highly educated, the limits of Ben's instruction becomes apparent during a stop at a RV site. A young, sexy girl takes to Bo, only to discover he is appallingly ignorant about boy/girl romantic interaction. His embarrassment and humiliation prompts a confrontation with his dad, when he admits not knowing anything about things that aren't in books.

The family's arrival in New Mexico predictably leads to a confrontation between Ben and Jack about how the kids are being raised. The touchy subject of Ben's wife's will, which details her Buddhist-inspired wish to be cremated and flushed down a toilet, also becomes a heated bone of contention. Exacerbating the problem is Jack's threat of custody. But just when we think Ben's concession to his father-in-law's demand is definitive, we find the children have their own agenda.

As mentioned earlier, the ending is emotionally and narratively tidy but somehow it works, though barely. The subplot dealing with Ben discovering Bo and his wife submitted applications to universities, is also dealt with neatly. What becomes of Bo? Given Ben's parenting, his life choice is hardly surprising.

A movie like Captain Fantastic succeeds because the offbeat, unpredictable moments outweigh the sentimental and predictable. Buttressing the drama are the fine performances by Viggo Mortensen, Frank Langella, Steve Zahn and Kathryn Hahn, who give the film much needed gravitas.

Where the family ends up seems like a nod to pragmatism, which makes sense in our 21st century world. I like that the film neither condemns nor extols Ben's parenting. The seemingly irresponsible things he teaches his kids are weighed equally against the amazing lessons and skills he imparts.

Taken as a whole, the movie is quite enjoyable. Its shortcomings are minor and can be easily overlooked. It doesn't establish any great truths but its numerous quirks are appealing. Just don't think of it as a parenting Bible.