Raising the perfect family is tough, but Ben (Viggo Mortensen) in Captain Fantastic seems to have it figured out. In an idyllic Washington State forest—filmed south of Seattle, at the foot of Mount Rainier—he raises his children on the land. They live sustainably, and hunt, garden, and forage for survival. The kids undergo rigorous physical “training” and have the stamina of endurance athletes.
They read constantly for pleasure and education, play a number of instruments, and speak more than six languages. Each member of the family engages in philosophical and political debates. They have surpassed the imagined goal of every liberal Seattle household and successfully achieved perfection in environmentalism, freedom, and intellectual development…