2018 Cannes Marathon: Captain Fantastic

(Winner of the Un Certain Regard Prize for Best Director to Matt Ross at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival)

Written and directed by Matt Ross, Captain Fantastic is the story of a family whose patriarch is forced to return to society with his six children as they’ve been living in the forest as they deal with other family members and the modern world. It’s a film that explores a man trying to deal with returning to the world as well as loss and what people want for his children. Starring Viggo Mortensen, Frank Langella, George Mackay, Missi Pyle, Kathryn Hahn, and Steve Zahn. Captain Fantastic is a riveting and witty film from Matt Ross.

The film revolves around a man who lives in the forests in the Pacific Northwest in Washington with his six children as he receives the news that his wife had died and her father is barring him from the funeral that is held in New Mexico only for the man and his children deciding to go in defiance against their grandfather. It’s a film with a simple premise that play into a man who lives in an unconventional world in the forests where he and his children hunt for food and do all sorts of activities including mountain climbing and read various philosophical things about the world. Matt Ross’ screenplay follows the lifestyle that Ben Cash (Viggo Mortensen) has created with his wife Leslie (Trin Miller) who have six children that live with them as they all share views about their disdain for capitalism and the conformities of society. Yet, Leslie would briefly leave to go to the hospital for treatment for her illness until Ben’s sister Harper (Kathryn Hahn) gives him the news that Leslie died.

The first half of the film largely is set on the road where Ben is taking his kids on their bus as they drive from Washington to New Mexico to go to Leslie’s funeral despite the threat that her father Jack Bertrang (Frank Langella) about having Ben arrested if he shows up. On the road, Ben’s children deal with the world they’re encountering as they have very little clue about the outside world other than the ideas of capitalism and such as well as celebrate Noam Chomsky’s birthday months earlier as they see him as a great philosopher. Yet, there are also these elements of curiosity in the film as it relates to the eldest son Bodevan (George Mackay) who encounters the opposite sex as he is trying to figure out how to woo them while concealing the fact that he’s been accepted to various top universities in America. There’s also tension within the family as the middle son Rellian (Nicholas Hamilton) believes that his mother really died because of his father. The film’s second half is set in New Mexico as it doesn’t just play into family tension but also why Jack has a grudge towards Ben as he is also concerned for the well-being of his grandchildren.

Ross’ direction does have element of style yet much of his approach to the compositions are straightforward to play into the world of a family who don’t live in conventional society. Shot largely in the state of Washington with additional shooting in Portland, Oregon, the film does play into this world where the forest is a place where Ben feels right at home with his children as they spend much of the day learning about philosophies and ideas as well as train to survive for any kind of situation. The first thing that is shown in the film is Bodevan in camouflage as he kills a deer as it is a moment establishes what Ben and his family does to get meat as well as the fact that they have their own garden and the only time Ben and Bodevan leave the forest is to certain things in a nearby town as their source of transportation is in a bus called Steve. Once the film goes on the road, Ross would use wide shots for the many locations they venture into while using close-ups and medium shots to play into the way they interact with other people and things including a stop at Harper’s home with her husband Dave (Steve Zahn) and their two sons.

Ross’ direction also include some humor where Ben asks his nephews about the Bill of Rights as his youngest daughter Zaja (Shree Crooks) brings her own interpretation of the document as it shocks her aunt. The funeral scene is comical but also unsettling for the fact that Ben and his kids are seen wearing strange clothes in comparison to what everyone else in the church is wearing as it play into two different worlds and ideals clashing together. Yet, there is something about the world that Jack offers to his grandchildren that is still compelling as he’s willing to give them a sense of security as well as a chance to discover the real world. Still, much of the film’s motivations is driven by loss as well as the air of uncertainty as it play into what Ben has to do for his children and the possibilities they can bring to the world. Overall, Ross crafts a mesmerizing and witty film about a family who enter the world of society to attend the funeral of their mother.

Cinematographer Stephane Fontaine does brilliant work with the film’s colorful cinematography with the natural look of the scenes of the forests as well as the usage of low-key lighting for some of the scenes at night including at the homes of Harper and Jack. Editor Joseph Krings does excellent work with the editing as it is largely straightforward with a few rhythmic cuts to play into the comedy and drama. Production designer Russell Barnes, with set decorators Tania Kupczak and Susan Magestro plus art director Erick Donaldson, does fantastic work with the look of the bus known as Steve as well as the forest home that Ben and his family live as well as the more lavish home that Jack has.

Costume designer Courtney Hoffman does amazing work with the costumes from the ragged hippie clothes the kids and Ben wear as well as the wild clothes they would wear to their mother’s funeral. Sound designer Frank Gaeta does superb work with the film’s sound as it play into the atmosphere of the locations as well as the way nature sounds in its natural environment. The film’s music by Alex Sommers is wonderful for its mixture of folk and ambient music textures with some original music played on location while music supervisor Chris Douridas provides a nice mix of genres ranging from classical pieces by Johann Sebastian Bach and Glen Gould as well as music from Alex & Jonsi, Sigur Ros, Bikini Kill, and covers of songs by Guns N’ Roses and Bob Dylan.

The casting by Jeanne McCarthy is incredible as it feature some notable small roles and appearances from Erin Moriarty as a teenage girl that Bodeven meets and falls for at a trailer park camp, Missi Pyle as the girl’s mother, Elijah Stevenson and Teddy Van Ee in their respective roles as Harper and Dave’s sons Justin and Jackson, Trin Miller as Ben’s wife Leslie, and Ann Dowd in a terrific small role as Leslie’s mother who would give Ben a letter she received from Leslie as she wants to get to know her grandchildren. Frank Langella is excellent as Leslie’s father Jack Bertrang as a man who has a grudge towards Ben for taking his daughter away from the world and blames him for her death as he wants to give his grandchildren a chance in live where Langella does show a sensitive and loving side when his character is around the grandchildren.

Steve Zahn and Kathryn Hahn are fantastic in their respective roles as Dave and Harper with the latter being Ben’s sister who are both concerned about their nieces and nephews and their interaction with the real world as well was what will happen to them when they’re adults. Shree Crooks and Charlie Shotwell are brilliant in their respective roles as the youngest children in Zaja and Nai with the former knowing a lot about body parts and government amendments while the latter is known for not wearing clothes when it’s time to eat dinner. Samantha Isler and Annalise Baso are amazing in their respective roles as the eldest sisters Kielyr and Vespyr as two teenage girls who are both dealing with growing pains with the former becoming interested in literature and the latter interested in adventure.

Nicholas Hamilton and George McKay are incredible in their respective roles as the middle child Rellian and the eldest child in Bodevan with the former becoming concerned and angry about some truths about what happened to his mother while the latter is trying to conceal secrets about being accepted to prestigious universities just as he’s becoming fascinated by girls. Finally, there’s Viggo Mortensen in a phenomenal performance as Ben Cash as a man of great intelligence who decides to shelter his children away from conventional society in the hope they can think for themselves as he also deals with the death of his wife as he’s also forced to realize his own faults in his methods as it all relates to loss and his unwillingness to deal with reality as it’s one of Mortensen’s finest performances.

Captain Fantastic is a tremendous film from Matt Ross that features an incredible performance from Viggo Mortensen. Along with its ensemble cast, engaging premise, and offbeat tone, it’s a film that explores a man trying to hold his family together to mourn the loss of their mother as they also encounter a world that is foreign to them. In the end, Captain Fantastic is a spectacular film from Matt Ross.

Related: 28 Hotel Rooms

© thevoid99 2018

Gone Girl

Directed by David Fincher and written by Gillian Flynn that is based on her novel, Gone Girl is the story of a man who becomes part of a media circus as he is a suspect in the disappearance of his wife. The film is an exploration into the world of marriage as well as revelations about that world where a man is being questioned about her whereabouts. Starring Ben Affleck, Rosamund Pike, Carrie Coon, Kim Dickens, Tyler Perry, Patrick Fugit, Emily Ratajkowski, Missi Pyle, Scoot McNairy, and Neil Patrick Harris. Gone Girl is a chilling and evocative film from David Fincher.

It’s the day of the fifth anniversary of a couple when a husband learns his wife has suddenly disappeared as he is later questioned into her whereabouts. That is sort of what the film is about as it’s really more of a study of marriage as it’s being viewed under a microscope by the media, a small community in Missouri, and the authorities. It’s a story that is told from many different perspectives as the life of Nick Dunne (Ben Affleck) starts to unravel due to not just his behavior in having to do with his wife’s disappearance but also about himself. Especially as it relates to the events in how Nick met Amy Elliot (Rosamund Pike) where they fell in love and got married until their marriage unraveled due to financial issues as well as the move from New York City to a small town in Missouri so that Nick could take care of his ailing mother. Once things about Nick’s life begins to emerge in the wake of the search for Amy, a media circus would come in to pick apart every piece of his life.

Gillian Flynn’s screenplay isn’t just this very intriguing study of marriage but also into a world where it plays into the ways a marriage can disintegrate as it’s told from not just Nick’s perspective but also through Amy from her own diary. While much of the mystery and speculation covers much of the film’s first act and parts of second act where it plays into any kind of suspicion of whether Nick had something to do with Amy’s disappearance. Especially as Nick is known to be frustrated with the marriage as it was later revealed that he was having an affair with a college student (Emily Ratajkowski) which only made him look worse in front of the media and the authorities led by Detective Rhonda Boney (Kim Dickens) and her partner Officer Jim Gilpin (Patrick Fugit). With only his twin sister Margo (Carrie Coon) on his side where they get the services of notorious defense attorney Tanner Bolt (Tyler Perry).

Much of the story’s approach to knowing what is going on showcases a world where many questions come into play about not just if Nick really did anything to Amy but also what might have drove Amy to antagonize Nick. While the script does manage to make the film be about Nick and Amy, the supporting characters in Boney, Margo, and Bolt are very compelling as Boney is just someone who is an authority figure that wants to give Nick a fair chance while Bolt is a complex individual who may be involved in Nick’s case for publicity but knows how to help him amidst the storm of controversy from the media. Then there’s Margo as she is the film’s conscience as she is someone who admittedly never liked Amy as she also scolds Nick for his affair yet is willing to defend him despite all of the shit they would go through. Adding to the genius of the film’s script is its dialogue where a lot of it has a sense of rhythm where it can play into many clues but also has some moments that are very funny which gives the film a sense of black comedy to something that is already dark.

David Fincher’s direction is truly intoxicating in the way he can create something set in a mundane small town in Missouri yet make it feel like it’s a world where there is a lot to be said. Not just in some of the compositions he creates but also in its mood where it starts off like any typical day where Nick takes out the garbage in suburbia and then drives to a bar to chat with his sister on the day of his fifth wedding anniversary. Then the film takes on a very dark mood while it gets inter-cut with these flashbacks of how Nick and Amy met where the latter is the daughter of a couple of authors who has created a series of children’s books based on Amy. Much of these flashbacks in New York City showcased a time where they were happy and quite playful but once the money starts to go away and they were forced to move to Missouri where Nick could be close to his family. Things do get dark as much of Fincher’s approach to drama does become intensified with his approach to intimate compositions and framing devices.

Once the film progresses into the second and third act, there is an element of satire in the way Fincher explores the world of the media as it showcases his offbeat approach to dark humor. Notably as such media figures like Ellen Abbott (Missi Pyle) is played for laughs as someone who has this belief that she is a crusader and is willing to smear Nick’s name without any real evidence. There’s also moments where Fincher manages to use the humor as it plays into how Nick had to present himself to the media. Still, there are elements where it is very dark as it relates to Amy’s disappearance as well as contents in her diary as it raises questions into her own past.

Especially with a former boyfriend named Desi Collings (Neil Patrick Harris) whom Amy had filed a restraining order against as he had been stalking her. It adds to the many ambiguities about the truth where it becomes more complicated as the film progresses towards its finale where it returns to that exploration into marriage. A marriage that raised many questions into why Nick and Amy even got married in the first place as the question about marriage starts to come into play. Overall, Fincher creates a very brooding yet intoxicating film about a man dealing with the disappearance of his wife.

Cinematographer Jeff Cronenweth does brilliant work with the film‘s cinematography with its unique approach to lighting as well as creating something that feels a bit discolored in its look for many of the film‘s locations as well as the way lights are presented in certain scenes as well as the TV footage. Editor Kirk Baxter does amazing work with the editing with its approach to jump-cuts and montages that plays off into the rhythms of suspense as well as some dramatic montages and some of the film‘s funnier moments. Production designer Donald Graham Burt, with supervising art director Sue Chan and set decorators Douglas A. Mowat and Gena Vasquez, does fantastic work with the look of the suburban home that Nick and Amy lives as well as the chaotic look of his father‘s home as well as the home of Margo.

Costume designer Trish Summerville does nice work with the costumes from the stylish underwear that Amy wears as well as the suits that Nick would wear in his interviews as much of it is casual in playing to the other characters. Sound designer Ren Klyce does excellent work with the sound to create some effective sound work to play into the air of suspense as well as scenes where dialogue is inaudible as well as in some of the bits of music on location that is played. The film’s music by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross is incredible as it’s one of the film’s highlights as it’s approach to dark ambient music with dissonant guitars and electronics add to some of its melancholic tone along with some somber pieces driven by piano and ambient textures as it’s one of their best film scores.

The casting by Laray Mayfield is great as it features some notable small performances from Kathleen Rose Perkins as a search volunteer who takes a selfie with Nick, Boyd Holbrook and Lola Kirke as a young couple Amy meets in her days away from New York City, Cyd Strittmatter as Nick and Margo’s ailing mother, Leonard Kelly-Young as Nick and Margo’s elderly father, David Clennon and Lisa Banes as Amy’s parents who take the lead to find Amy as they would confront Nick about the marriage, Sela Ward as the TV host Sharon Scheiber who interviews Nick in his attempt to prove his innocence, Emily Ratajkowski as the young college student in whom Nick had an affair with, and Scoot McNairy as a former boyfriend of Amy’s whom Nick meets where they share some surprising revelations.

Missi Pyle is very funny as the sleazy TV host Ellen Abbott who tries to discredit Nick’s name and devolve herself into tabloid TV while Casey Wilson is wonderful as Nick and Amy’s dim-witted neighbor Noelle who claims to be Amy’s friend as she would provide a key aspect to the investigation. Patrick Fugit is excellent as Officer Jim Gilpin who assists Boney in the investigation as he gets to say some funny lines throughout the film as he’s suspicious of Nick. Kim Dickens is fantastic as Detective Rhonda Boney who leads the investigation as she would uncover some key clues about the case such as credit card bills and Amy’s diary while wondering about Amy and who she is. Neil Patrick Harris is superb as Amy’s former boyfriend Desi Collings whom Nick wanted to talk to as he’s a very strange figure that implies a sense of creepiness about the way he is around Amy which would explain the restraining order.

Tyler Perry is amazing as Tanner Bolt as this defense attorney who is a master in making his clients look good as Perry brings in a lot of charisma and charm as well in how to instruct Nick in doing interviews. Carrie Coon is brilliant as Nick’s twin sister Margo who is the film’s conscious as she tries to prove Nick’s innocence despite some of his flaws while she is also a target of the media where she is accused of having an incestuous relationship with her brother among other many lies. Ben Affleck is phenomenal as Nick Dunne as a writer turned community college professor who deals with the accusations of his wife’s appearance as well as realizing in how much of a fuck-up he is in his marriage as it’s a role where Affleck plays the cuckold as well as someone who can look good for the camera. Finally, there’s Rosamund Pike in an outstanding performance as Amy Elliott as this woman who had everything until financial difficulties has her becoming troubled in her marriage as it’s a role full of complexities and many layers that are just astonishing to watch as it’s a real break-out role for the actress.

Gone Girl is a tremendously dark yet powerful film from David Fincher that features amazing performances from Ben Affleck and Rosamund Pike. Along with a strong supporting cast that includes Tyler Perry, Carrie Coon, and Kim Dickens plus some great technical work and an incredible score from Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross. The film is definitely a suspense-drama that is full of intricate layers and compelling themes on marriage thanks in part to its writer Gillian Flynn. In the end, Gone Girl is a magnificent film from David Fincher.

David Fincher Films: Alien 3 - Se7en - The Game - Fight Club - Panic Room - Zodiac - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button - The Social Network - The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011 film)

Related: The 15 Essential Videos of David Fincher - The Auteurs #61: David Fincher

© thevoid99 2014

The Artist (2011 film)

Written and directed by Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist is the story of a silent film star who meets a young dancer where the two becomes top movie stars. When the era of the talkies start to emerge, his career spirals while the dancer becomes a star of her own in the new era. The film is a homage to the world of early 20th Century cinema as Hazanavicius brings back the world of silent films into the 21st. Starring Jean Dujardin, Berenice Bejo, John Goodman, Penelope Ann Miller, Missi Pyle, Ed Lauter, Beth Grant, and James Cromwell. The Artist is an entertaining yet splendid silent film from Michel Hazanavicius.

It’s 1927 in the silent film era as George Valentin (Jean Dujardin) is the biggest movie star in Hollywood. At the premiere of his new film, he is received with great praise from moviegoers as a young woman named Peppy Miller (Berenice Bejo) accidentally stepped into the red carpet where photographers got a picture of her and George. Peppy suddenly becomes this mysterious star who eventually gets to be in a film with George as a dancer. When George’s studio boss Al Zimmer (John Goodman) shows George that the future is in the world of sound and the talkies. George doesn’t believe that it will be the future as his pride that things won’t change. Instead, the arrival of the talkies do change things as Peppy becomes a star.

Faced with the decline of silent films and the stock market crash of 1929, George’s attempt to make a silent film bombs when it opens on the same day as Peppy’s new film. His wife Doris (Penelope Ann Miller) leaves him while his longtime driver Clifton (James Cromwell) is fired because George couldn’t pay him. Though Peppy enjoys life as a movie stardom, she still wonders about George whom she cared about as she regrets what she said in an interview about the death of silent films. Wanting to help him, she wants to help revive his career in a big way.

The film is about the rise and fall of a silent film star in the emergence of the talkie film era as he’s forced to watch a young extra whom he discovered become a major star of her own. Told in the silent film era style, it is a film that revels in the world of entertainment and flash of those times where it’s being threatened by this new emergence of sound in pictures. For this actor, he refuses to believe that things are changing only till he’s realized that he’s out and this young woman he discovered is in. For this young woman however, she becomes this major star though she doesn’t forget the fact that she started out in a silent film and idolized this man that gave her the break she wanted.

Michel Hazanavicius’ script is fantastic for creating this rise and fall tale in the eyes of two people where one falls and another rises. While there isn’t a lot of dialogue present except in inter-titles, it’s more about this man dealing with the idea of being obsolete as he’s forced to sell his possessions and believe that he’s washed up. Yet, he still has people including a dog named Uggie that remains loyal to him. Though times may have changed, there are those that still know who he is and care for him. While the structure and formula is familiar with the rise and fall scenario, it works to convey the world Hazanavicius wanted to explore in that world of early 20th Century cinema.

Hazanavicius’ direction is truly magical in the way he re-creates the world of the silent film era. Shooting the film in the 1:33:1 theatrical aspect ratio of its time, Hazanavicius brings back that world where it’s all about entertainment and drama told through a physical form of acting. While there are actors who talk though dialogue isn’t heard as it cuts to inter-title cards. There is a great scene where George Valentin faces that future of sound in a scene where the sound becomes big as he’s in shock over what could be the future.

The framing is quite engaging in the way he shoots more than one person in a frame while having sets made to convey that world of old Hollywood. There’s also moments where the director also creates scenes of frantic moments to play up that nightmare of changing times and despair in the eyes of Valentin. Notably in the third act as he struggles to face the idea of being obsolete and washed-up where there’s some soft lenses to heighten the melodrama. The overall work that Hazanavicius does is truly marvelous for bringing back an old era of films back to the 21st century.

Cinematographer Guillaume Schiffman does a fantastic job with the black-and-white cinematography that is truly rich in its look while utilizing soft touches for some of its emotional moments. The editing by Michel Hazanavicius and Anne-Sophie Bion is superb for its stylish cutting approach to emphasize the rhythm of the music and action that appears in the film while utilizing dissolves and montages for its stylistic flairs. Production designer Laurence Bennett, along with art director Gregory S. Hooper and set decorators Austin Buchinsky and Robert Gould, is brilliant for the set pieces creating including the studio exteriors and film sets made for the movies that are made.

Costume designer Mark Bridges does a wonderful job with the costumes from the suits that the men wear including George’s tuxedos to the more stylish and lavish clothing of Peppy in her rise to stardom. Sound mixers Gerard Lamps and Michael Krikorian, along with sound editor Nadine Muse, do excellent work in the few sound pieces created for the film which includes the famous nightmare that George would have. The music score by Ludovic Bource is phenomenal for the way it carries the film as it’s the major technical highlight of the film. Featuring bombastic yet playful pieces to more sweeping yet dramatic orchestral pieces for its despaired moments as Bource’s score is definitely magnificent.

The casting by Heidi Levitt is another major highlight of the film as features wonderful appearances from Malcolm McDowell as a butler, Ken Davitian as a pawn shop owner, Missi Pyle as George’s co-star in the film’s opening scenes, Joel Murray as a policeman, Ed Lauter as Peppy’s butler, and Beth Grant as Peppy’s maid. Other notable performances in supporting roles include Penelope Ann Miller as George’s neglected wife Doris, James Cromwell as George’s loyal butler/driver Clifton, John Goodman as boisterous studio boss Al Zimmer, and a fun performance from Uggie as Jack Russell Terrier dog called Jack.

Finally, there’s the performances of Berenice Bujo and Jean Dujardin in their respective roles of Peppy Miller and George Valentin. Bujo brings a wonderful energy and charisma to the character as well as a sense of warmth in the way she tries to help Valentin. Dujardin brings a real charm to Valentin as well as an energy as a man on top while displaying great sadness when his character has fallen. Both Bejo and Dujardin bring great physicality to the silent roles they display while proving to be amazing dancers in some of the dancing they do together as they are the acting highlights of the film.

The Artist is a majestic film from Michel Hazanavicius that features delightful performances from Jean Dujardin and Berenice Bujo. The film is full of entertainment and spectacle as well as a story that audiences can be engaged by. Particularly as it revives an old style like the silent movie back and make it feel fresh again. In the end, The Artist is a triumphant and dazzling film from Michel Hazanavicius.

Michel Hazanavicius Films: (La classe americaine) - (OSS 117: Cairo, Nest of Spies) - (OSS 117: Lost in Rio)

© thevoid99 2012