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Leave No Trace
****
Dir: Debra Granik
Starring: Ben Foster, Thomasin McKenzie
(USA, PG, 1hr 49mins)
Debra Granik, the director who launched Jennifer Lawrence into the stratosphere with her first feature, Winter’s Bone, returns after an 8-year feature film hiatus with another drama, this time about a father and daughter.
It may not have the same thriller noir elements of Winter’s Bone, but it does create a unique glimpse into a relationship on the fringes of society. Ben Foster plays a former military man, suffering from post-traumatic stress after his experiences on the battlefront. He lives with his 13-year-old daughter Tom (an excellent Thomasin McKenzie), in an off-the-grid encampment in an Oregon national park.
They survive frugally, hunting and gathering, living off what they find and avoiding contact with greater society. This seems to be no problem for either, especially the daughter. However, when they are discovered, society imposes rules upon them, something the daughter embraces, the father less so.
She happily rides bikes, makes friends and becomes part of the wider world, he however remains isolated, flinching at the sounds of helicopters, still tortured and melancholic and mourning the loss of his wife. The film slowly and steadily builds their relationship up and then shows how it needs to change.
This is a very loving parental relationship, but they are placed on different paths. Director Debra Granik, adapting Peter Rock’s novel, takes her time showing us the world of these characters, so that when they are separated, it is wrenching. A return to the wilderness ends in failure, and the pair of them have to decide what is best for each other. Leave No Trace is a slow-burn coming-of-age tale with great performances from Foster and McKenzie, whose characters are treated with compassion but without judgment. This is stronger than last year’s similarly themed Captain Fantastic and far richer – a mature drama that lingers and ultimately proves very moving.
words Keiron Self