‘Nature is crooked. I wanted right angles, straight lines…’
To paraphrase the Lemonheads song, I am absolutely not the outdoor type. I like a long hike as much as the next man, but at the end of that hike, I want a hot dinner, a cold pint and a comfortable bed to sleep in. The Mosquito Coast confirms all of my worst camping-related fears – that everyone who loves camping eventually wants to force me to live off-grid without cartoons or the internet or toilet paper…
Allie Fox (Harrison Ford) is a genius inventor who could be rich and live comfortably. Instead, he chooses to move to the jungle, therefore, endangering his family – his loyal wife (Helen Mirren) and his children (led by eldest son Charlie (River Phoenix)) – and in the process reveals the problem with obsession. It ultimately leads to disaster.
It’s rare for Ford to play a villain and while Allie has the best intentions for his family here, there is no denying that his monomaniacal infatuation with living some kind of unattainably ‘pure’ lifestyle leads to smouldering resentment and staunch opposition. Mirren’s long-suffering and put-upon matriarch mostly suffers in silence but she portrays more anger in a despairing glance than most actors manage in a shouty monologue. Elsewhere, Phoenix once again proves that he could have been the best actor of his generation had he not tragically passed away at the preposterous age of 23 and it is also a pleasure to see Martha Plimpton from The Goonies popping up in a small but important role as Phoenix’s potential love interest (she thinks about him on the toilet, don’t you know).
The Mosquito Coast, written by Paul Schrader and Paul Theroux (father of Louis) and directed by Peter Weir, is a chilling story of what happens when obsession goes too far. It also boasts one of Ford’s finest performances. A thoroughly enjoyable movie.