Review of Leave No Trace (2018) by Grantd243 — 26 Jul 2018

Leave No Trace follows a dad, who is ex-military, and his teenage daughter who live in a public park. They live in this park by choice, not necessarily out of necessity. They have a solid camp set up, a daily routine, and while the daughter doesn't go to public school her dad has homeschooled her very well. They aren't completely isolated, either, as they go into the city whenever they need to. But, one day a jogger sees the daughter while running down the trail, alerts the authorities, and they are scooped up and taken to a government agency. Eventually, they are let go and attempt to adjust to their new way of life in an actual house. That's as far as I'll go with story details, because that is where the story really begins. The story of Leave No Trace is not an exciting one. This is a pure drama and the true focus here is on the characters. We watch Will (the dad) attempt to adjust to living as a "normal" person in a house with a day job, while also battling his memories of war which often haunt him in the night. Living outside is all Tom (his daughter) has really ever known, so we also see how she adjusts and what she thinks about the average way of living in the U.S. Their struggle, and sometimes their inability, to adapt is what drives the story. This is a very emotional film as well. And by that I don't mean that it'll make you cry or tear up, but the emotion is so strong that it is almost a character itself. I was at full attention the entire time while watching this one. Everything just comes together in a way that easily makes this one of my favorite films of the year.

Characters: The real reason why this film succeeds so well in what its trying to do is because of the characters and the actors playing them. Ben Foster puts in what I would call an Oscar-worthy performance as Will. We sympathize with him, we see the conflict within him, but we also question him at times because of how set in his ways he is. Thomasin McKenzie also puts in a tremendous performance as Tom. As far as I can tell, she hasn't had many major roles but she is incredibly impressive with her ability to carry scenes here. She's also very strong in the more emotional scenes. Cinematography: There are some great shots in here, but the real reason why I wanted to note the cinematography is because there is a use of symetry at the beginning and end of the story that really impressed me. It was such a simple addition, but it really helped bring everything together. Also, I loved that the director chose to use music so sparingly. There are some scenes where there is absolutely no music at all, only the sounds of the environment and dialogue of the characters. Overall: Leave No Trace is a terrific movie that very well could end up getting an Oscar nomination or two at the end of the year. The strong performances and the gripping story really make it worth the trip to the theater.