Saturday Night at the Movies - Viggo Mortensen hits it out of the park as a dad who takes his family off the grid in "Captain Fantastic."

SATURDAY NIGHT AT THE MOVIES – I’ve always been a big fan of Viggo Mortensen. I mean – Aragorn son of Arathorn in “The epic “Lord of the Rings”, who isn’t a fan? More recently, he was wonderful in the “Green Book.” But somehow I missed his 2016 film “Captain Fantastic.” The only thing I can think of is that I mistakenly thought it was another superhero flick, and I was going through superhero withdrawal. But “Captain Fantastic”(from writer/director Matt Ross – based on his family experiences living off the grid) is such a find – about as far as you get from a superhero film. Viggo is in fine form as a dedicated and intellectual father who takes his wife and six children off the grid to live in the northwest wilderness. They hunt for their own food, handle their own medical emergencies and read a ton of books on a myriad of subjects. It’s home schooling to the extreme. We never meet the wife – and when she dies suddenly, the family must go on a challenging journey to attend the funeral. Actually, there are many challenges in this compelling film. His oldest boy, portrayed by George MacKay, who played the lead soldier in the recent “1917,” has been accepted by every major university, and he must figure out how to attend, since the family has no money. By the way, the parents have given each child a unique name that you won’t find in the dictionary of children’s names -Bodevan, Kielyr, Vespyr, Rellian, Zaja, Nai – Wow, quite a group of amazingly resourceful and super intelligent children who have never heard of Coca Cola, Star Trek and strawberry milkshakes. But Viggo is at the center of this story, and he’s terrific – a man who is determined to give his kids every chance at a unique, fulfilling and sustainable life in today’s crazy world. He was nominated for the Oscar for Best Actor in a Leading role (losing to Casey Affleck in “Manchester by the Sea.”)  Kudos also to Frank Langella and Ann Dowd as the mystified in-laws. Check this one out – it’s a special film.