Susan Granger’s review of “Leave No Trace” (Bleecker Street)
For years, PTSD-afflicted veteran Will (Ben Foster) and his 13 year-old daughter Tom (Thomasin Harcourt McKenzie) have lived off the grid in Forest Park, an eight-square-mile nature reserve near Portland, Oregon.
Adept in survival skills, they pick berries, mushrooms and plants to eat, cook over a makeshift wood fire, catch rain water to drink, and sleep huddled in a small tent – their forest sanctuary.
Aside from occasional ‘supply’ trips into town, they avoid all contact with the noise of the outside world. But when Tom’s inadvertently spotted by a hiker, park rangers with dogs come searching and take them into custody.
After initially separating them and subjecting each to respectful, yet intensive evaluations, a concerned social worker (Dana Millican) relocates Will and Tom into a small, sparsely furnished house on a Christmas tree farm, urging them into society’s mainstream.
Inquisitive Tom learns to ride a bike and befriends a boy (Isiah Stone) who raises rabbits. When Will gets restless, they move north to a rural co-op in Washington State, where Tom learns about bee-keeping and comes to appreciate their neighbors’ kindness and hospitality.
Will is an attentive, devoted father yet, no matter where they go, he stubbornly plots their escape back into the wilderness, while Tom subtly yearns for some sense of shelter and security.
Based on Peter Rock’s novel “My Abandonment” (2009), the bittersweet conflict clearly delineates one person’s rebellious desire for isolation with another’s desire for stability and community.
Delving into his traumatized character’s understated complexity, Ben Foster radiates anxiety mixed with melancholy, and perceptive Thomasin Harcourt McKenzie, a newcomer from New Zealand, exudes sensitivity and determination.
Collaborating on the screenplay, Anne Rosellini and director Debra Granik (“Winter’s Bone”) create a unique coming-of-age story, empathizing equally with father and daughter, amplified by Michael McDonough’s naturalistic, yet evocative cinematography.
On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “Leave No Trace” is a compelling, compassionate 9, a powerful character study.
