Leave No Trace (2018) Review

Leave No Trace details the life of a father named Will (played by Ben Foster), a war veteran who struggles with PTSD, and his daughter named Tom (played by Thomasin McKenzie) as they illegally live on government property. After their blissful life ends, social services bring them in and offers them an opportunity to live on a Christmas Tree farm for free. Unlike Tom, Will struggles to acclimate to society, so he decides to retreat into the wilderness with his daughter once again. The story follows their journey on an ambitious path to discover what home really is. The plot of this film may appear hollow and uneventful to the naked eye but framing it as a “story-driven” movie would be doing it a disservice because that is not its intent.

The Director of Leave No Trace, Debra Granik, is familiar with portraying PTSD on film with her previously directed film Stray Dog. Leave No Trace gives an exact portrayal of a single father that suffers from that potent disorder. Tom is an intelligent girl who relies heavily on her dad to help educate, feed, and care for her. There is an intense feeling of co-dependency between these characters as they are inseparable. Once they arrive at social services, the bulk of Tom’s and Will’s dialogue is trying to figure out where the other person is. Regardless of the simplicity of their shared dialogue, their relationship feels real and beautiful.

Their lives revolve around each other, but that does not stop Will from disregarding Tom’s wants to serve his own. Will is accustomed to the concept of survival and he feels a strong disconnection between him and the rest of the world. Later in the movie, Tom stumbles upon a newspaper article that mentions how the majority Will’s old military unit has committed suicide. Will is one of the lone survivors of that troop but is he living? Is it worth dragging those you love into a life they do not want to live? Debra Granik does an elegant job answering those questions.

Tom’s character evolves from a timid girl that heavily relies on her father to someone who looks to learn about the people and world around her. She tries to adapt to their new living conditions by riding bikes and talking to unfamiliar faces, but her father holds her back. Will is not comfortable using technology and tension begins to form. Tom begins to question her dad’s way of thinking as she realizes things are not always black and white. There are good people in the world and they are not out to hurt them.

Thomasin McKenzie steals the show in Leave No Trace. Her blunt dialogue combined with her soft, tremulous delivery brings life to every word she speaks. Tom’s interactions with others appear so innocent and genuine that I could not help but feel paranoid that something bad would happen to this character throughout the entirety of my viewing. However, that is not to take away from Ben Foster’s performance in this movie. Ben’s character is constantly fighting an internal battle, while trying to be a loving father simultaneously. He can appear broken mentally yet have an undying need to be there for his daughter. The moments where he embraces his daughter are a heart-warming representation and a graceful portrayal of family.

For a film that primarily takes place in the forests of Oregon and Washington, it does an incredible job showing the lush greenery. In addition, the color of the forest often reflects Tom and Will’s feelings toward nature in every scene. If they are struggling with surviving harsh weather conditions, the forest feels dull and gray. The scenes at nighttime are beautifully lit as well. A scene with Tom standing on a front porch as candles are the only thing lighting her is a shot I will not forget.

A film that is heavily reliant on characters rather than plot makes genuine dialogue a larger necessity and it delivers. Ironically, Granik and Foster spent time reviewing the script and ended up cutting 40% of the dialogue to make the movie feel more realistic. Less dialogue for Will led to a stern depiction of a father that is unable to think about anything other than protecting his daughter. The removal of those lines in an outdoor movie also allows nature to have its own character and a louder voice. This removal of human sound proves that silence in nature can be deafening.

My biggest issue with the movie was its decision to avoid relying on music. While that is a decision entirely up to the director’s discretion, the subtilty of music takes away more emotions than it delivers. There are a few scenes that show characters singing to an acoustic guitar. Those country vocals around a campfire, echoing throughout the woods might be my favorite aspect of this movie. However, when it comes to the addition of music in post-production, it severely lacks, and it made the climax of the film nowhere near as impactful as it should have been.

Leave No Trace is an artistic character piece that excels in portraying mental disorders and co-dependency. It asks its audience to reflect on what the concept of a home really is. Is home a family or a location? And at what point do you sacrifice your ambitions for the betterment of those you love? Debra Granik leaves her audience with a thought-provoking ending that compliments the tone and symbolic brilliance of her underlying message of family.

Final Score: 8.5/10