Leave No Trace

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source: Leave No Trace

Perhaps no other film in 2018 has exemplified true human emotion like Leave no Trace. It's immensely impressive how well director Debra Granik manages to make these characters feel like real people, even if you don't know anyone who lives out in the woods full time. I mean really, the location isn't necessarily important, what's important is that they have a home and that home was taken from them while another home is forced upon them. That's essentially the central part of the film, what's home to you may not be home to everyone. Ben Foster is unsurprisingly brilliant as is his daughter in the film, Thomasin McKenzie, who most certainly draws comparisons to Jennifer Lawrence (another Granik alum). Incredibly powerful and impeccably visceral, Leave no Trace is undoubtedly a film that will leave a trace come Oscar season. 8.0/10

A movie that follow a daughter and a father that live in the woods. Sounds just as thrilling as could be. Slowly the film builds as you get to know and try to understand the mindset of the father, and slowly you begin to learn about the daughter as well. However, this is the whole movie, very slow. Living between scenes of living off the land and day-to-day life there isn't much push forward in the plot. Where the movie hits the mark is in acting, with the main actors Thomasin McKenzie and Ben Foster driving almost everything, this film relies solely on their shoulders to not fall apart. They were able to keep control of the reigns all the way to the end. It definitely is more of a small sample size of many topics of culture, post military life, and family dynamics. However, in the end it falls short of a great story

Great screenplay and performances make this low budget film the best of 2018 so far. You don't need millions of pounds of CGI, A list 'actors' and massive publicity campaigns to make a damn good film. The film is basically about a U.S. army veteran Will (Ben Foster) with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder who brings his teenage daughter Tom (Thomasin McKenzie) in the wild, literally. On public woodland in Oregon. Obviously these living conditions don't go down to well with the local social services and Will and Tom are rehoused in a tree cutter businessman/farmer's spare property. The arrangement is grudgingly followed for a few weeks to appease the authorities before Will returns to his survival in the wild lifestyle. To escape the local authorities moving to an area far away. (Leaving no trace!) Will and Tom are eventually taken in by a trailer community when Will is immobilised by injury for a while. The inner demons of Will are revealed by other vets with similar issues. The performances of the unknown cast are excellent. I did wonder about the history of Tom's mother. That is not explored. The relationship between father and daughter is what makes this film for me. The woody Oregon environment makes for a great cinematic backdrop. I reiterate how deep the film has an effect on the viewer. For such a low budget film with a limited release a triumph.

LEAVE NO TRACE (2018) **** Ben Foster, Thomasin McKenzie, Dana Millican, Jeff Kober, Dale Dickey. Excellent drama about a father/daughter relationship on the fringes of society with Foster and McKenzie delivering Oscar worthy performances as a damaged veteran and his coming of age daughter who both seek to make their family work at any costs. Filmmaker Debra Granik, who co-adapted the screenplay with Anne Rosellini based on Peter Rock's novel "My Abandonment", elicits heartfelt performances, tough choices and matter-of-fact reality of how inhumanity to man is perhaps the greatest sin. One of the year's best films.

Although it feels generally slow-moving and takes a while to really get going, 'Leave No Trace' is a thoroughly compelling, realistic drama that expertly explores the father-daughter dynamic. The exposition-less script is refreshing, allowing the audience to actually think for themselves about the lives of the characters and how they got to where they are at the beginning of the film. All of the dialogue feels entirely natural (a testament to both the screenwriters and the actors) and this, combined with the subtle, yet nuanced direction, gives the film an almost documentary type feel, which fully compels the viewers to engage with the lives and central relationship of the protagonists. 7/10.