Movie Review: “Leave No Trace”

Every so often I stumble upon a movie sitting “off the beaten path” that proves to be an interesting diversion. 

This week I watched the 2018 film “Leave No Trace,” available on Amazon Prime Video. 

“Leave No Trace” tells the story of Iraq veteran Will (Ben Foster) and his 13-year-old daughter Tom (Thomasin Harcourt McKenzie) — a father/daughter duo who have lived for several years in a vast public forest in Portland, Oregon. 

Will suffers from PTSD. The pair lives in near total isolation, surviving off the land. Will teaches his daughter life skills in the forest, and also has a collection of books to school her in the fundamentals. 

The pair occasionally goes to town for food and supplies. Will makes money selling his VA-issued prescription drugs to other veterans.

Their idyllic “off-the-grid” existence is turned upside down when Tom (who is sitting on a grassy perch reading about seahorses) is spotted by a jogger — prompting authorities to arrive. 

I won’t go any further into the plot for “Leave No Trace.” It isn’t a particularly complex story, but the journey of Will and Tom is one worth discovering.

The performances by Foster and McKenzie are particularly strong. 

Ben Foster is no stranger to playing odd birds who don’t quite fit into society. It’s sort of become his calling card in Hollywood. If you’re looking for an actor who can serve up a scarred war vet who’s unable to fit into society’s trappings, Foster is your guy. 

Thomasin McKenzie is a relative newcomer. I didn’t realize until I was doing research for this review that the actress hails from New Zealand. She does a fine job with the material in “Leave No Trace” — playing a gentle soul who is torn between the life she has known, and a more normal life for a teenager. 

“Leave No Trace” explores the notion of how a “normal life” is defined in our world. But the narrative is never “preachy" or "in your face” — the screenplay by director Debra Granik and Anne Rossellini is more subtle than that. 

Back in 2016, I wrote a blog post on a local Omaha couple who had traded in their large suburban life to live in a tiny house. 

The themes in “Leave No Trace” are part of a bigger conversation society is having about the trappings of a material life — and whether the race to acquire “things” is essential to having a happy and fulfilling existence. 

“Leave No Trace” is skillfully directed by Debra Granik (best known for her film “Winter’s Bone”) and had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in 2018. It is based on the novel “My Abandonment” by Peter Rock. 

There is an oft-mentioned sentiment in creative pursuits that “less is more.” That is as true for film as it is any other medium. 

“Leave No Trace” practices the principle of “showing” versus “telling” — using an austere style to great effect. There is very little dialogue in the movie, but long info dumps aren’t a prerequisite for telling compelling stories. 

I don’t put much stock into review aggregator sites, but the movie currently has a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

That might be hyping the movie a bit too much. But if you’re looking for something different, check out “Leave No Trace.”

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