We decide what artistic endeavour passed approval to earn the Scorcher label from the past seven days & what also had the dishonour of being that week's Torture...
It is normal for me to indulge in some festive themed entertainment in the month of December. Christmas carols and songs will be played ad nauseam; Films about or set at Christmas will be given a viewing and books about the happiest time of the year will be read.
One such book makes it into our Scorcher list this week, while a short story about something totally not related to the birth of Christ is the subject of Torture.
The Scorcher
L. Frank Baum is most famous for giving the world his tale The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and the many adventures set in the legendary Land of Oz. This other lesser known work of Baum's called The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus is a little gem.
This is a fantastical imagining of Santa growing from a child into a man amongst fairies and other mythical forest creatures. While Baum does incorporate a few Christmas themes, he doesn't stick rigidly to all the common conceptions of Santa lore. Some of his ideas do seem a little out of place; such as Santa's location, but overall he strings this fairy tale together nicely.
It is a refreshing perspective and offers up a different perspective as to how Santa Claus came into being. I can see this story becoming a seasonal staple of mine along with my all-time favourite Christmas story (and many other peoples too): Charles Dickens A Christmas Carol.
What this tale truly deserves is a good cinematic adaptation to bring it the wider attention it warrants.
The Torture
Like many people the tragedy that befell the Titanic on its maiden voyage has always piqued my interest. Imagine how I felt upon learning that an author had penned a short story fourteen years prior to the Titanic's doomed voyage; which seemed to predict the coming event.
Morgan Robertson was that very author and his novella goes by the title of Futility, or the Wreck of the Titan. Originally it was just Futility but in 1912 the story was reissued under the longer title after people had started to recognise the similarities from Robertson's fictional tale and the real life sinking of the Titanic.
Robertson's ship even bears the name Titan, which is eerily close to the Titanic. The Titan strikes an iceberg in the North Atlantic and in the same month of April. Whereas the Titanic had just over two thirds of the passengers and crew lost at sea; the Titan loses nearly everyone with very few survivors. One of the reasons being the lack of lifeboats, again mirroring the Titanic.
Now all this sounds fascinating and makes you wonder at the power of Robertson's coincidental foresight. The reality though is not as exciting as imagined. The actual description of the ship and the subsequent sinking all take place in quick succession. Yes what is depicted does closely resemble what happened to the Titanic; but it is only a small part of the tale being told.
The main crux of the novella is a rescue attempt and one man's story of redemption. This in itself makes for a decent read; but if like me you come to this expecting to find the main theme being about an unsinkable ship dropping to the bottom of the ocean; then you too will be sadly disappointed.
The Witch Trial:
Is this a film about tree hugging hippies, freeloading off the land; or a comment on the consumerism that envelops the majority of people's lives? Let us delve deeper to see what we can uncover. Who:
Director: Matt Ross
Starring: Viggo Mortensen, George MacKay, Frank Langella, Kathryn Hahn, Steve Zahn What:
Comedy/Drama Why:
Original script When:
Released 2016 Where:
Set in the forests of the Northwest of America
The Case For: Captain Fantastic is a simple story about a family who have turned their backs on modern society in favour of raising their six children in an idyllic forest home; subsisting off the land. Into this idyllic lifestyle choice tragedy occurs when the mother of the family takes her own life while she is away in hospital for treatment.
Viggo Mortensen is Ben, the father of this family. He decides to take his children across country to attend the funeral against his father-in-law's wishes. What follows is a road trip movie of discovery for the children as they see the country and life they have been sheltered from.
The story is both uplifting and tragic at the same time. On the one hand you can see in what ways these children are better off; being taught by Ben and learning life skills that would not be taught in the real world. At the same time you also get to see everything that they are missing out on by being so isolated; things that we take for granted.
One of the great strengths of the story is the lengths the writers have gone to portray these characters in a way that doesn't make them seem like outcasts. They might have some queer practices and certain foibles that aren't all that common but on the whole they are normal, well-adjusted individuals.
It is more often than not people around this family who view them as outcasts and are unaccepting of someone who don't live in a traditional way. This is very evident when Ben stops off at his sister's house and her children are amazed at their cousin's behaviour and mannerisms. These are the type of scenes in particular where the filmmakers are asking the audience to judge if what Ben is doing is acceptable. It gets you thinking as you observe the ways in which society expects us to interact with one another and what would generally be considered unusual; when this family acts in a way which is completely natural for them.
The assembled cast are excellent, even the youngest children perform admirably which isn't something too often said when kids are involved. The focus isn't on the little ones though; the crux of the story revolves around Ben and his eldest son Bodevan, played by George MacKay. Kielyr and Vespyr, the two eldest daughters are also prominent; but it is the relationship and the conflict that occurs between Ben and Bodevan that is central to the overall arc.
It is only in Bodevan's awkwardness around strangers that we really get an insight into how this different upbringing has affected his social interaction. You start to realise that if the isolation that they have all been forced to endure can affect such a clever young man; then it will have the same, and possibly worse, consequences for his siblings.
These conflicts between father and son are fascinating and help show that even though Ben thinks he is doing something good for his children that, in actual fact, there is no right or wrong way to raise your kids. What one person does is not always going to be right for another.
Bodevan is an interesting character. He is extremely loyal to his father, even though he questions his motives and methods. That loyalty is also extended to his family and it has to be said that the loyalty is reciprocated from each member; this is definitely a close knit family, one of unity and solidarity. We get a couple of glimpses of him wanting to break away from this life. Bodevan also gives you a clear indication of how he feels torn as he contemplates leaving what is probably the only existence he remembers. Apart from Ben, his is the most interesting story arc.
Mortensen is perfectly cast as Ben, I can't think of another actor more suited to this role. He has that bohemian look about him and you could well imagine Mortensen going all method and living this lifestyle to prepare for the part. He gives Ben so much depth, generally just from a facial expression or by using his body language; he is able to show the audience what he is thinking and how he is feeling. So much of this film is riding on Mortensen being able to pull this off and he gives yet another stand out performance.
The story isn't solely about their life choices, hidden amongst this living off the land are some pertinent social comments surrounding commercialism and consumerism. Here is a family, seemingly happy on the whole with what they have been given in life. In contrast to this once again, is Ben's sister who is part of your average two adults, two children family living in modern suburbia. The message is pretty clear that not all is well with the standard family who seem to have everything. Of course we come to learn that not all is right with Ben's family too; but it is intriguing to see the comparison.
I like the pacing of this film. It doesn't rush to the funeral scene; the director takes his time getting us there which allows us to get to know the characters. We then care about what the final outcome will be and what will occur once they reach their final destination. While the film might have started under tragic circumstances by the end there is a sense of hope that the family will end up in a better place.
The Case Against:
The opening scene has a deer being hunted and finally killed by Bodevan in what appears to be a coming of age ceremony; one that Ben has possibly borrowed from some native custom. This opening is slightly confronting and doesn't really portray how the rest of the film will pan out.
What it does do is show that this family are capable and possibly dangerous. Some of the practices that Ben has his children performing are very cult like. The fascination that each one seems to have with knives is disturbing. You can understand it to a certain extent as they have to fend for food from the land, but it is still a little unnerving.
Ben's rigid authority and regimental nature work against you warming to his character. On the one hand you can see that he clearly loves and cares for each of his children; but you sense an undercurrent of his overly possessive nature towards them. It looks like he is missing a vital point about parenting, which is providing your child with the necessary tools to allow them to discover things for themselves. A person achieves this from the encouragement and guidance offered by the parent. It appears however that Ben wants to control every aspect of their lives.
The children have to learn what he chooses, they have to exercise the way he wants and they have to do as he says. Now while most children have to obey their parents; generally speaking they are allowed a certain amount of freedom. With Ben that is not the case and his indoctrination of his beliefs is his attempt to create people that think and act the way he does.
This practice backfires later on once Bodevan confronts him. These scenes are played well by both actors and it does make you realise what a manipulative person Ben has been towards his family. To the writers credit you can see that Ben does realise the error of his ways but it is definitely a character flaw that doesn't make Ben particularly endearing. Of course having such a complex character is also more refreshing than having someone who is just straight forward; where everything is black and white.
Ben also has to deal with a very upset father in law. Jack, played by Frank Langella, shows his disdain towards the lifestyle he feels was forced upon his daughter because of Ben's controlling nature. He feels a lot of anger towards Ben which you can sympathise with. Langella is very convincing and has an intimidating presence. His attitude is only natural when someone is looking for someone to blame after a person close to them chooses to take their life. Jack is mourning the loss of his daughter and Ben is the obvious choice to shoulder that blame.
As a consequence some of Jack's ire seems to extend to his grandchildren and I found this a bit odd. They shouldn't share any portion of his resentment; they have no say in how and where they live. This could be a consequence of Jack not knowing the children and not being a part of their lives for such a long time. It did seem strange that he would act this way towards people who are no more at fault than his daughter was.
While I was okay with Jack's behaviour towards Ben, I was not so convinced by Harper, Ben's sister. Once again you can understand someone thinking that what Ben is doing is unconventional and Harper certainly feels this way. I would have just liked for the writers to have one person have the balls to stand up for him and say they admired him for his convictions. Who better to fulfil that role than his own sister?
Instead we get another person telling him what he is doing is wrong and how it is having a detrimental effect on his children. Speaking of children, Harper's own brood act exactly how I expected them too towards their cousins. They couldn't have written these two annoying brats any more conventional if they tried. In much the same way I would have liked Harper to show some compassion towards Ben's choices; how refreshing would it have been to see her offspring behave in an inquisitive way towards their relations, rather than in the derogatory manner displayed?
Everyone can agree that the way Ben has chosen to bring up his kids is certainly different. By showing some people commend him for his convictions would have just put a twist on the angle. These are the type of tropes that if the writers had chosen to avoid; would have resulted in a stronger film that possibly would have had more impact. These differences of opinion would have added to any debate on the rights and wrongs of what Ben is trying to do when discussing the film after it ends.
One final comment on Mortensen: did we really need to see his little Viggo on display in yet another role? He must have it written into his contract these days that he is allowed to appear nude in at least one scene. Just because Ben has chosen to live a lifestyle close to nature doesn't make him a nudist. It felt randomly thrown in just to get a cheap laugh.
Verdict:
Although dark and disturbing at times, I can't fully condemn a man for sticking to his principles when trying to do the right thing. I just hope he isn't indirectly raising children who will become the next Manson Family! As you can see I do have some reservations about letting this get off completely free; which I feel is exactly what the filmmakers intended.
