Review of Captain Fantastic (2016) by Nick D — 11 Jan 2017

Notwithstanding the soft spot I still hold for unreconstructed hippies, this joyful story of an unconventional family living on the land and by their wits captured my heart. Mortensen is fantastic (sorry) as the widower whose devotion proves to be insufficient to meet the needs of his kids, especially the oldest son, when crisis strikes.

There's a kind of Lost Boys quality to the scenes of self-sufficiency and mutual interdependence. And a manic left-wing craziness as they celebrate Noah Chomsky Day and dance to music of their own making.

The finale is heart-wrenching, but thoroughly believeable. An underappreciated gem of a film.