“Captain Fantastic” a Hero Without Super Powers
By Skip Sheffield
On a more serious note we have “Captain Fantastic.”
I thought this was going to be a Marvel/DC Comics super hero
adventure, but boy was I wrong.
Viggo Mortensen stars as Ben Cash, father of six children,
whose wife Leslie (Trin Miller) has become incapacitated by bi-polar mental
illness.
If you have ever known anyone with bi-polar disorder, and/or
if you have ever lost friends or family to suicide, “Captain Fantastic” is the
kind of film that will rip out your heart and stomp upon it.
As a last ditch resort to deal with his wife’s mental
illness, Ben and his children have retreated to the Pacific Northwest to live
off the grid by the land. Crops provide vegetables and meat is obtained by hunting
and killing. Ben has home-schooled his children and urged them to be
free-thinkers. The kids have been encouraged to emulate Noam Chomsky, a deep
thinker and champion of the “New Left.” This is all well and good deep in the
woods, but when Leslie Cash suddenly dies by her own hand, Ben takes it upon
himself to bring his children to her funeral in Colorado, traveling in a large
converted school bus. Ben undertakes this despite being threatened with arrest
by Leslie’s father Jack (Frank Langella), a wealthy, conservative businessman.
Being a parent is challenging under the best of
circumstances. Being a single parent with six children in the middle of nowhere
is a Herculean effort.
Viggo Mortensen often plays bad guys. Ben Cash is a good
guy, but he is seen as bad by much of the outside world. Boy howdy, can I
relate.
“Captain Fantastic” is not for everyone. If you are a
conventional bedrock conservative person, you will hate this film. If you have
ventured to the edges of philosophical radical freedom, you will find much to
admire. I think this movie is Viggo Mortensen’s best chance for Best Actor
Oscar consideration.
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