Friday, February 3, 2017

Captain Fantastic and Manchester By the Sea: my final reviews of the season. Bravo to both!

I finally saw the two films that could not be more opposite--and at the same time could not have given the audience two finer performances from an actor in a leading role:


Manchester by the Sea: A And the same praise can be directed toward the performance of Casey Affleck. Affleck quietly gives a stunning understated portrayal as a broken man who is locked away, purely self-imposed, as a punishment for a crime that is both unforgivable and understandable. We pull for him, for he is both noble in deed and haunted in setting. The supporting cast--again the teenagers, like Captain Fantastic, are so real that you are sure that they live right down your street. Michelle Williams utters the words we long to hear in the film's most powerful scene in which Affleck simply cannot speak, yet muted he conveys all we need to know. In both pictures, the endings are as unpredictable as the latest storm to strike the Bahamas; however, the resolution is...well, that would be saying too much.


Captain Fantastic: A- Viggo Mortensen's role as a father who is committed to the counter-culture of the 60's (minus the drugs) and the need to fully "suck the marrow out of life" by raising his family in the forest, is in sharp contrast with his father in law, played by Frank Langella, who is a part of the country club world of "another 'Pleasant Valley Sunday' in Status Symbol Land." It is a classic romantic vs. realist drama, balanced, fanciful, and harsh. No spoilers here, but Mortensen and his cast of 'warrior children' are all wonderful. I'm still not sure why the title--but the story is fantastic.  See them both.

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