Leave No Trace
Composite Score: 83.23
Starring: Thomasin McKenzie, Ben Foster, Dana Millican, Jeff Kober, Isaiah Stone, Art Hickman, and Dale Dickey
Director: Debra Granik
Writers: Debra Granik and Anne Rosellini
Genres: Adventure, Drama, Family
MPAA Rating: PG for thematic material throughout
Box Office: $7.68 million worldwide
Why should you Watch This Film?
Leave No Trace is Debra Granik’s adaptation of Peter Rock’s novel My Abandonment about a widowered military veteran attempting to live off the grid with his daughter in the national forest of Oregon. Ben Foster and Thomasin McKenzie star as the father-daughter duo at the heart of the film, carrying its emotional and existential stakes on their backs as each of them struggles to find their place in a world that they don’t necessarily feel at home in. The story of the pair delivers an emotionally resonant story that comments on PTSD, the VA system, living simply, and poverty in America in a way that leaves a lasting mark on its audience.
Why shouldn’t you Watch This Film?
A good portion of this film needs to be taken with a grain of salt. While it is important to provide for veterans and give people time to process tragedies and traumas in their own ways, it is equally important to make sure that they are not causing harm to themselves or to the people around them. While I recognize Granik’s goal of helping make people more okay with things outside of the societal norm for processing or raising children or even just living, it is important to note that, for the most part, society cannot just adapt overnight and that most people in Tom’s and Will’s situation won’t necessarily encounter the amount of compassion and acceptance and opportunity that the film’s main characters do. So even with the optimism that Leave No Trace provides, it bears keeping in mind the many people who can still benefit from reformed systems that don’t force them to live off the grid if they don’t immediately fall in line. A happy ending to one story doesn’t mean that we’ve solved the system.
So wait, why should you Watch This Film?
Thomasin McKenzie and Ben Foster deliver phenomenal performances in this film, carrying it to the place of greatness where it currently sits. McKenzie’s Tom is one of the most dynamic thirteen-year-olds I’ve ever seen brought to the screen. Her ability to portray the character’s desire for human connection and her care for the natural world and her love for her father all come through in a way that feels beautifully pure, as you’d expect of a child growing up in such circumstances. She plays the role with an excellence and a character development that almost adds the category of coming-of-age to this film because of how she is able to grow into a semi-independent young person by the film’s end. Helping (or hindering in some narrative cases) develop Tom into a young woman is Foster’s Will, an Iraq veteran suffering from PTSD who cannot bring himself to live in civilization even for the sake of his daughter. Foster’s portrayal of the internal contradiction and conflict that Will experiences over the course of the film brings a sense of authenticity and empathy to the character, allowing the film to take a more nuanced look at such situations. Without Foster’s performance, Leave No Trace doesn’t carry nearly the amount of emotional weight, and it becomes instead a film about overcoming abuse. As it is, the two leads allow the film to be a touching portrait of children learning how to deal with parents with debilitating health issues from a totally unique light.
Thanks in large part to the deeply real and raw portrayals by its lead actors, Leave No Trace makes a worthy entry on the list of Greatest Films of All Time, telling a story of love and sacrifice in the midst of incredibly difficult circumstances. Despite the dangers of taking its individual story as a monolithic one, the film remains impactful and resonant. It is currently available to stream on Netflix if you’ve got the time to spare and want to give it a watch.
