Leave No Trace (2018)

Review

109min

Genre:      Drama

Director:   Debra Granik

Cast:        Thomasin McKenzie, Ben Foster, Dana Millican…and more

Writers:    Debra Granik, Anne Rosellini and Peter Rock

-Synopsis-

Forced to abandon their idyllic wild existence in the forests of the Pacific Northwest, an emotionally scarred father and his thirteen year-old daughter struggle to adapt to the society around them, only to return to their ‘rolling stone’ roots but face the uncertainty of the future, in this poignant adaptation of a Peter Rock novel from writer/director Debra Granik.

Nearly a decade after helping to launch the career of an aspiring teenage actress named  Jennifer Lawrence with her last feature film ‘Winter’s Bone’, Granik returns with another adaptation of a poignant and picturesque family drama, yet again featuring broken fathers and strong daughters—and once again pairing an accomplished and established indie actor with a promising and impressive young star, for a touching but subtle tale of abandonment, isolation and emotional anguish in silence.

Young Thomasin McKenzie stars as ‘Tom’, a not-so-typical modern teenager living in the wilderness of a national park in Oregon with her dad ‘Will’ (Ben Foster), a troubled but stoic and steady US military veteran, both surviving off the land and living a tranquil but unconventional existence. When their life is uprooted after being discovered by local authorities and coerced back into ‘civil’ society, the need for detachment lures Will back to the road with his increasingly unwilling daughter in tow—as these two rolling stones are confronted with circumstances which reveal their differing natures, and threaten to shape a once uncertain future for both.

Having been spoilt for choice in recent years in terms of nuanced and poignant indie family dramas and voyages of self-discovery, which combine the classic American road movie with the wilderness survival film, in films like ‘Wild’, ‘Captain Fantastic’ and ‘Lean on Pete’, Granik now throws her own restrained but affecting concoction into the mix—combining all the elements with a moving father-daughter tale and a subtle ode to the American soldier, to make for an emotion-provoking indie treat that’s mercifully devoid of melodrama.

Despite sharing some common core narrative threads with her previous work in terms of the family drama, the father-daughter story and the small-town American setting, ‘Leave No Trace’ is something of a departure from ‘Winter’s Bone’ for Granik, arguably her defining film thus far. There’s no gritty crime angle here, no prolonged tension or indeed any real mystery element to speak of, instead relying on a subtle and nuanced character drama about the human spirit and broken people, full of introspection and suppressed suffering . . . but no less stirring.

The film truly stands on the performances of its two leads and their understated but undeniable on-screen chemistry, with the always committed and often intense Ben Foster displaying his range and subtlety by bringing to life a stoic and troubled ex-soldier and committed father— toiling with Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and the accompanying stress and restlessness, suffering in emotional and physical isolation while simultaneously depending on it.

But the star of the show is undoubtedly Thomasin McKenzie who proves yet another promising young talent to emerge from the indie scene, shinning as the spiritual and emotional heart of the piece with an impressively nuanced and mature performance as the spirited and devoted teenage daughter—sharing a deep connection to her old man, but with a fire in her own belly, at odds with his transient way of life.

‘Leave No Trace’ may prove too much of a minimalist and restrained affair for some, a drama devoid of much incident and bathos and without the lashing out and histrionics you might expect from a story revolving around the pain of PTSD. Yet Granik manages to effectively combine some beautiful nature cinematography from Michael McDonough (Winter’s Bone, Starred Up) with fine performances and a finely judged emotional balance, resulting in an understated but moving and reflective family drama and survival road movie—underpinning the already accomplished career of its more experienced male lead, and potentially launching the other into stardom.

The Bottom Line…

A nuanced and subtle but stirring and thoughtful character drama and ode to the emotional sacrifice of military service, ‘Leave No Trace’ effectively combines a reflective father-daughter tale with a classic American road movie and survival drama, making for a memorable indie showcase for its impressive two leads, and of course its director . . . who should strongly consider becoming a tad more prolific.

Similar films you may like (Home Video)

Lean on Pete (2018)

Teenager ‘Charley Thompson’ is used to living a nomadic life, moving from town-to-town in the Pacific Northwest with his grifter dad, with their latest move giving him the chance to work the local stables and form a bond with a spirited racehorse named ‘Lean on Pete’. But when tragedy unexpectedly strikes, Charley embarks on an impromptu cross-country voyage with his trusty equine friend, in the hope of finding some real belonging—only to learn some grim life-lessons before his sobering journey is through.

Directed by Andrew Haigh and starring Charlie Plummer, Steve Buscemi and Travis Fimmel among others.

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