“Well that was just delightful. I mean, it wasn’t a light and fluffy movie by any means. Truth be told it did go to a couple dark places. But ultimately the feeling was more on the positive side. Also a positive that with this movie, I’ve now seen all of the “”above the line”” Academy Award nominated films. Go me!
Yeah Captain Fantastic earned Viggo Mortensen his second Best Actor nomination. Here he plays the father of 6 children who he’s been raising off the grid. They learn things like survival skills, physical fitness, philosophy, and literature. When his wife, and the mother of the children dies, he tries to bring them back into civilization so they can attend her funeral (or rather, try and stop the funeral organized by her parents and give her the bohemian send off she always wanted).
Watching it kinda made me want to live their type of minimalist existence. It was so refreshing seeing this band of children that was engaged with the family instead of hiding behind a screen. Kids who had actually learned something and cared about the world. Of course as it goes on, we see how that lifestyle may not be very sustainable, particularly when trying to reintegrate with the world. Still, their sense of family values was truly admirable.
Mortensen was an interesting choice to snag that last spot on the nominees list, but I’m glad that he’s there. Not only because it did make me watch this fun and quirky film, but it’s an atypical choice, and I’m always in favor of bucking the norm. He did give a strong performance with a full range of emotion and honesty, but I also just love that it’s not your typical biopic or weighty drama. It’s something unique and fun, and more thought provoking than most of the films we saw this past year.
This was one of those rare movies that I never wanted to end. I wanted the story to keep going and I wanted to see what this family would get up to. Netflix series maybe?”