By Robert Yaniz Jr.

DAY 20 OF THE 2018 HOLIDAY BINGE

Debra Granik takes a sobering look at the growing chasm between a father and daughter in crisis.

THE HYPE

Eight long years have passed since director Debra Granik’s last feature film, 2010’s Winter’s Bone. That film introduced audiences to future Oscar winner Jennifer Lawrence, but Granik credits the delay of her follow-up film to her own less mainstream (read: reliably profitable) creative interests than anything else. Nonetheless, she’s back in the director’s chair to tell another bleak tale about a fractured relationship between a father and his daughter. The results? Leave No Trace landed a perfect score on Rotten Tomatoes.

THE STORY

Ben Foster stars as Will, a father who has chosen to live outdoors with his teenage daughter, Tom (Thomasin McKenzie). Though the pair relishes this isolation from the hectic outside world, they must continually contend with one lingering problem: their home lies in the middle of a public park. Fearful of being discovered, Will and Tom soon find themselves at a crossroads wherein they must make a critical decision about their lives, one that could irrevocably change their relationship.

THE CAST

For years, Foster has been turning in one fantastic performance after another, and Leave No Trace finds the actor quieter and more understated than ever. With nary a word to say, his actions speak volumes, allowing the implicit connection between Will and Tom to resonate. McKenzie though carries the film. Tom is the one we most empathize with, and ultimately, it is her emotional journey that proves to be the crux of Leave No Trace. No wonder the relatively new actress (this is her third and biggest role) is suddenly very busy.

THE PRODUCTION

The delicate nature of Leave No Trace‘s subject matter requires a skilled hand to explore the issue of potential homelessness without dipping into anguish or making it more palatable to mainstream audiences. Thankfully, Granik and co-writer Anne Rosellini convey the plight that Will and Tom are facing, their responses to it and the inevitable fallout without ever minimizing the weight of their situation or questioning the indisputable love they share. For a film hinging on its bare-bones narrative approach, it’s quite the gamble.

THE VERDICT

As the second film in our unofficial trilogy of father-daughter stories (after Hearts Beat Loud), Leave No Trace paints a very different portrait of this dynamic. In Granik’s film, this bond is fraught with tension and begins to fray in the presence of this new challenge. Foster and McKenzie neatly complement the minimalistic story cues and an undercurrent of emotional stakes in their roles. The ending of Leave No Trace certainly packs a wallop, but it’s exactly the right kind of exhalation the film needs to drill down into its intense themes.

Leave No Trace stars Ben Foster, Thomasin McKenzie, Jeff Kober and Dale Dickey and is directed by Debra Granik.