Captain Fantastic (film)

Captain Fantastic is a 2016 American drama film written and directed by Matt Ross and starring Viggo Mortensen, Frank Langella, Kathryn Hahn, and Steve Zahn. The story centers on a family forced by circumstances to reintegrate into society after living in isolation for a decade.
The film had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on January 23, 2016. It was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival. It was theatrically released on July 8, 2016 by Bleecker Street. It was chosen by the National Board of Review as one of the top ten independent films of 2016 and Mortensen was nominated for the Golden Globe, the BAFTA Award, and the Academy Award for Best Actor.
==Plot==
Ben Cash, his wife Leslie, and their six children live an isolated existence on ten acres in the mountainous Washington wilderness. They are former left-wing anarchist activists disillusioned with capitalism and American life, who choose to instill survivalist skills and left-wing politics and philosophy in their children.
They educate them to think critically, and train them to be physically fit, athletic, and self-reliant without dependence on modern technology. They are raised to coexist with nature, and they celebrate Noam Chomsky's birthday instead of Christmas. The children are accustomed to reading many forms of college-level literature, and, while showing high aptitude and intelligence beyond their years, they are socially awkward as they have not socialized with the outside world.
Leslie is hospitalized, away from her family and near her parents for bipolar disorder and eventually commits suicide, leaving Ben to raise the children on his own. He learns that Leslie's father, Jack, plans to hold a Christian burial despite Leslie being a Buddhist who wished to be cremated. They argue over the phone, and Jack threatens to have Ben arrested if he attends the funeral. He initially decides not to go and prevents his children from doing so, but then changes his mind, leading his children on a road trip into life outside the wilderness.
The family briefly stays at the home of Ben's sister, Harper. She and her husband try to convince Ben that the children should attend school to receive a conventional education; in response, Ben quizzes Harper's children and his children on various topics, illustrating that his children are better educated and embarrassing Harper and her husband. Ben arrives at Leslie's funeral with their children and irreverently reads her will, which instructs her family to cremate her and flush her ashes down a toilet. In response, Jack has Ben forcibly removed from the church. Ben tries to reason with Jack, but he still refuses to listen to him.
During their road trip, some of Ben's children start to doubt him and his parenting skills. Rellian accuses him of failing to treat Leslie's mental health. Bodevan accuses him of not equipping them for the real world, showing him acceptance letters from several top Ivy League colleges, which Leslie had helped him apply to. Rellian tells Ben he wants to live with their grandparents, who want custody of all the children. When Vespyr tries to "free" Rellian from their grandparents, she falls from the roof and narrowly avoids breaking her neck. Ben, shocked and guilty, allows Jack to take his children. Although they have bonded with their grandparents, they quietly decide to follow Ben when he departs.
The children wish to honor Leslie's final wishes, and convince Ben to help them. Exhuming her corpse, they burn it on a funeral pyre, flushing her ashes down an airport toilet. Bodevan then leaves the family to travel through Namibia, while the rest settle into a more "real world" life on their farm. The final scene shows the family eating breakfast around the kitchen table with their father, waiting for the school bus to arrive.
==Cast==
* Viggo Mortensen as Ben Cash
* Frank Langella as Jack Bertrang
* Kathryn Hahn as Harper Cash
* Steve Zahn as Dave
* George MacKay as Bodevan Cash
* Samantha Isler as Kielyr Cash
* Annalise Basso as Vespyr Cash
* Nicholas Hamilton as Rellian Cash
* Shree Crooks as Zaja Cash
* Charlie Shotwell as Nai Cash
* Trin Miller as Leslie Abigail Cash
* Elijah Stevenson as Justin
* Teddy Van Ee as Jackson
* Erin Moriarty as Claire McCune
* Missi Pyle as Ellen McCune
* Ann Dowd as Abigail Bertrang
==Production==
The idea of the movie started for Matt Ross as he began questioning the choices he and his wife were making as parents. From there, he wondered what would happen if he were "completely present" in his children's lives while noting that modern technology had made that difficult. In making the film Ross also took autobiographical bits from his own life, notably being raised in what he terms as "alternative-living communities" growing up.
Viggo Mortensen was cast in February 2014. That June, it was announced that George MacKay, Annalise Basso, Samantha Isler, Nicholas Hamilton, Shree Crooks and newcomer Charlie Shotwell had also been cast. Much of the rest of the cast joined that July and August.
Principal photography on the film commenced in July 2014, in Western Washington, with additional photography in Portland, Oregon.
==Release==
In July 2014, eOne Entertainment acquired international distribution rights to the film. In August 2014, it was announced that Bleecker Street would distribute the film in the United States. The film had its world premiere at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival on January 23, 2016. The film was released on July 8, 2016. The film was aired in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival, with Matt Ross winning the Best Director prize.‘Olli Mäki,’ ‘Captain Fantastic’ Win Big in Un Certain Regard at Cannes .
==Reception==
===Box office===
Captain Fantastic grossed $5.9 million in the United States and Canada and $15.4 million in other territories for a worldwide total of $21.3 million, against a production budget of $5 million.
===Critical response===
On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 83% based on 229 reviews, with an average rating of 7.10/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Captain Fantastics thought-provoking themes—and an absorbing starring turn from Viggo Mortensen—add up to an above-average family drama with unexpected twists." On Metacritic, the film holds a score of 72 out of 100, based on 36 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". It received a ten-minute standing ovation at Cannes.
Alonso Duralde of TheWrap gave the film a positive review, saying, "The movie really belongs to Mortensen, who allows Ben to be exasperating, arrogant, and impatient but also warm, loving, and caring. He's a tough but adoring father, a grieving widower and a passionate defender of his wife's final wishes, and Mortensen plays all these notes, and more with subtlety and grace". Peter Debruge of Variety gave the film a positive review, saying "Boasting half a dozen impressive youth performances alongside a leading role that takes full advantage of Mortensen's own sensitive, back-to-nature spirit, Captain Fantastic easily ranks among the most polished and relatable of this year's Sundance offerings."
A negative review from The Guardian's Peter Bradshaw writes, "There's a meaty whiff of phony-baloney in this fatuous and tiresome movie, replete with forced emotional crises and wrong notes, topped off with an excruciatingly unearned, sentimental ending. It's a low-cal version of Peter Weir's 1986 movie The Mosquito Coast, starring someone who is essentially a cross between Charles Manson and Captain von Trapp."
Sheila O'Malley of RogerEbert.com believes "It's the attitude of the film that's the problem" and it "could have used a lot more skepticism". While praising the cast, she writes that the film "treats the situation (and Ben) so uncritically and so sympathetically that there is a total disconnect between what is actually onscreen and what Ross thinks is onscreen".
===Accolades===
List of awards and nominations 	List of awards and nominations	List of awards and nominations 	List of awards and nominations	List of awards and nominations	List of awards and nominations
Award 	Date of ceremony 	Category 	Recipient(s) 	Result 	
AARP Annual Movies for Grownups Awards 	February 6, 2017 	Best Actor 	Viggo Mortensen 	 	
Academy Awards 	February 26, 2017 	Best Actor 	Viggo Mortensen 	 	
British Academy Film Awards 	February 12, 2017 	Best Actor in a Leading Role 	Viggo Mortensen 	 	
Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival	July 31, 2016 	Save Energy, Save Earth Film Award 	Captain Fantastic 	 	
Cannes Film Festival 	May 22, 2016 	Un Certain Regard - Prize for Best Director 	Matt Ross 	 	
Cannes Film Festival 	May 22, 2016 	Prix Un Certain Regard 	Captain Fantastic 	 	
Costume Designers Guild 	February 21, 2017 	Excellence in Contemporary Film 	Courtney Hoffman 	 	
Critics' Choice Awards 	December 11, 2016 	Best Actor in a Comedy 	Viggo Mortensen 	 	
Deauville American Film Festival 	September 11, 2016 	Audience Award 	Captain Fantastic 	 	
Deauville American Film Festival 	September 11, 2016 	Jury Prize 	Captain Fantastic 	 	
Deauville American Film Festival 	September 11, 2016 	Grand Prix 	Captain Fantastic 	 	
Dorian Awards 	January 26, 2017 	Unsung Film of the Year 	Captain Fantastic 	 	
Evening Standard British Film Awards 	December 8, 2016 	Best Supporting Actor 	George MacKay 	 	
Florida Film Critics Circle 	December 23, 2016 	Best Actor 	Viggo Mortensen 	 	
Golden Globe Awards 	January 8, 2017 	Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama 	Viggo Mortensen 	 	
Houston Film Critics Society 	January 6, 2017 	Best Actor 	Viggo Mortensen 	 	
Houston Film Critics Society 	January 6, 2017 	Best Poster 	Captain Fantastic 	 	
Independent Spirit Awards 	February 25, 2017 	Best Male Lead 	Viggo Mortensen 	 	
IndieWire Critics Poll 	December 19, 2016 	Best Actor 	Viggo Mortensen 	 	
Karlovy Vary International Film Festival 	July 9, 2016 	Audience Award 	Captain Fantastic 	 	
Make-Up Artists and Hair Stylists Guild 	February 19, 2017 	Feature-Length Motion Picture – Contemporary Make-Up 	Akemi Hart and Karen McDonald 	 	
Nantucket Film Festival 	June 27, 2016 	Audience Award 	Captain Fantastic 	 	
National Board of Review 	January 4, 2017 	Top Ten Independent Film 	Captain Fantastic 	 	
Online Film Critics Society 	January 3, 2017 	Best Actor 	Viggo Mortensen 	 	
Rome Film Festival 	October 22, 2016 	BNL People's Choice Award 	Captain Fantastic 	 	
San Diego Film Critics Society 	December 12, 2016 	Best Actor 	Viggo Mortensen 	 	
Satellite Awards 	February 19, 2017 	Best Film 	Captain Fantastic 	 	
Satellite Awards 	February 19, 2017 	Best Actor 	Viggo Mortensen 	 	
Satellite Awards 	February 19, 2017 	Best Original Screenplay 	Matt Ross 	 	
Satellite Awards 	February 19, 2017 	Best Costume Design 	Courtney Hoffman 	 	
Seattle International Film Festival 	June 12, 2016 	Golden Space Needle Award for Best Film 	Captain Fantastic 	 	
Screen Actors Guild Awards 	January 29, 2017 	Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role	Viggo Mortensen 	 	
Screen Actors Guild Awards 	January 29, 2017 	Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture 	The cast of Captain Fantastic 	 	
St. Louis Gateway Film Critics Association 	December 18, 2016 	Best Actor 	Viggo Mortensen 	 	
===Notes===
==References==
==External links==
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Category:2016 films
Category:2016 comedy-drama films
Category:American comedy-drama films
Category:Films about bipolar disorder
Category:Bleecker Street films
Category:English-language films
Category:Environmental films
Category:Films about dysfunctional families
Category:Films directed by Matt Ross (actor)
Category:Films scored by Alex Somers
Category:Films set in New Mexico
Category:Films set in Washington (state)
Category:Films shot in New Mexico
Category:Films shot in Portland, Oregon
Category:Films shot in Washington (state)
Category:Films with screenplays by Matt Ross (actor)
Category:Films about parenting
Category:2010s English-language films