Rent Captain Fantastic (2016)

Not Quite What I expected - Captain Fantastic review by Cato

I was rather looking forward to this film - the title looked like it was going to be a couple of hours of fun. No such thing. In fact it turned out to be anything but. The story involved a domineering father who wanted to make all of his children do everything he thought they should in his alternative quasi hippy way of living. Of course it didn't work, but I won't go any further, as it might spoil things

Captain Fantastic - Captain Fantastic review by kk

Grizzly beginning which might put off faint hearted but stay with it this is an uplifting feel good movie. The film does exactly what the main character sets out to achieve with his children, it brings up difficult topics and discusses them frankly and in places is an absolute romp and completely accessible. 

A really must see........... - Captain Fantastic review by BE

A refreshingly different movie from actor/director, Matt Ross. It is about a family who have been living a bohemian lifestyle out in the wilds and is very well acted, especially by the six children with not a precocious one amongst them. George MacKay gives an outstanding performance as Bodevan and the movie is thoroughly entertaining all the way through. Beware - the consumption of food whilst watching the first ten minutes is definitely not recommended!!

Brilliant film - Captain Fantastic review by cr

I loved this film! Viggo is brilliant as a bereaved dad trying to raise his brood in the mountains away from the lunacy of the modern world. I am not a parent but it says so much about raising children away from modern kids who seem to be screen obsessed and sedentary although viggo does go to extremes with them. A great film with a fantastic performance by viggo.

Cringe moments...... - Captain Fantastic review by DF

Another fairly average product of the American ‘family’ road movie genre. A family living off-grid in the backwoods are under the care of their father whose character is a bizarre mix of Rambo and a guitar strumming hippy. The family, a mixture of boys and girls; all ages, have to leave their animal skinning antics to head off for the funeral of their ‘missing’ mother. Melodrama ensues as the family have to face the reality of the other America; junk food, sassy girls and the very conservative family of Dad’s in-laws who really don’t like his style of child rearing. One example of Dad’s style is to hand out presents of enormous deadly hunting knives to all the kids during a sort of alternative pseudo Christmas dedicated to Noam Chomsky (not too sure how N.C. regarded being tagged to this movie!). There are some similarities to other movies of this type; Nation Lampoon’s Vacation and Little Miss Sunshine, although they are lighter in tone (I do wonder about the American road movie nonchalance when dealing with corpses. I would imagine that spontaneously absconding with, and transporting a corpse in the family wagon would, in most countries, see one up in Court). Anyway, to lighten things up and offering cringe moments (imho), there is some very syrupy singing by the family.  

For Noam - Captain Fantastic review by Steve

Offbeat comedy-drama which is more concerned with the thematic content than prompting any laughter. Viggo Mortenson gives an Oscar nominated performance as a fearless/hubristic liberal intellectual who elects to rear his six children off-grid rather than within the conformity of mainstream society.

Only when their estranged wife/mother dies, they leave the arboreal wilderness for the funeral and the kids are exposed to the epidemic of obesity and materialism which is modern life. There is some fun to be had with this culture clash comedy which soon vanishes when dad starts to re-evaluate.

They whimsically celebrate Noam Chomsky day rather than Christmas, and find solutions in dogmatic socialism, which will probably prove divisive... Personally, these are rational conclusions... And surely, the analysis of lifestyle and childrearing for causes of the surge in mental illness is topical?

And that's without writer/director Matt Ross taking on social media. The narrative runs a little wild in the last third, and becomes more of a fantasy. But the impression of an actual family bound together by unorthodox values and experiences is really quite palpable. I'd happily watch their further adventures....

* the frequent swearing means this may not be family viewing.