Review of Captain Fantastic (2016) by Spangle — 06 Aug 2016

Captain Fantastic's first two acts are brilliant, but its final act fails to live up to their standards. Featuring a phenomenal leading turn from Viggo Mortensen, Captain Fantastic is a funny, charming, and moving little indie film from writer and director Matt Ross.

A terrific calling card for future success, Ross has established himself as a man to watch with a nearly phenomenal work that is his most mainstream film to date. The entire cast is more than able in this little indie film about a man and his kids who live in the forests of the Pacific Northwest.

An incredibly philosophical film about child rearing, acceptance, and balance, the film is incredibly well-written with its characters carrying a considerable amount of nuance. Nobody is all good and nobody is all bad, instead there is an incredible amount of things we will never understand about those we encounter.

The film does a great job balancing these themes, while still telling a truly engaging story and building a world that we can really dive into and enjoy. Overall, Captain Fantastic is a sneaky little indie film that has flashes of brilliance, but its ending is a really let down.