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Leave No Trace (2018), PG, ★★★★


This movie explores the post-soldier life of a man living with PTSD and even though we explore PTSD a bit with American Sniper throughout the movie. But, to have that and to live an idyllic life is quite complicated because you and your family are in another zip code, isolated from society. The one with PTSD has only his or her family to talk to. But, the movie tackles with family, kindness, solitude and independence in quite a fruitful way and director Debra Granik incorporates all of those themes into a story that is uplifting and heartbreaking.

A war veteran named Will (Ben Foster) is suffering from PTSD and is living with his thirteen-year old daughter, Tom (Thomasin McKenzie), in isolated existence in a vast urban park in Oregon. Tom is accidentally spotted by a jogger and police take them away and put them in social services. They are giving food and a house in Oregon only on the condition that Will abides by the rules and follows certain instructions under the house's owner. It does not take long for Will to cope with those instructions so Will tells Tom that they should return to their isolated lifestyle and she agrees as they journey to Washington.

They try to seek shelter in a cabin in the woods but they are unsuccessful as they are forced to build a tent and suffer the harsh-cold conditions at night. The next night they find an abandoned cabin and live in there as Tom stays and Will seeks to find food. Knowing that Will has not arrived the following morning, Tom looks for him and finds his unconscious body at the bottom of the hill, presumably after a fall. Tom gets help from some local farmers, one named Mr. Walters (Jeff Kober), and they suggest taking him to the hospital but Tom knows that they would be placed in social services again so they need to take care of Will themselves.


We do not get to see as many movies about fathers and daughters and this is a refreshing and hushed film about a moving portrait of a father and daughter surviving in a quiet world but with a noisy and conservative environment around them. The movie is patient regarding its process of how the father and the daughter will survive in that challenging world. We cannot scoff at their idea of living their dream because we do not know how it feels with one living with PTSD and living in isolation. It is a bit frustrating when authority challenges one to suddenly adapt to another environment. If the movie had quickly adapted, the movie would not be painted as a realistic, processed portrait of a father and daughter trying to live in idyllic conditions.

Ben Foster is one of those under-the-radar actors that consistently gives one great performances after another as he again plays a person struggling with his inner demons, but this time in a more human character of a person caring for his daughter. He quietly gives a chilling performance. And, Granik had discovered Jennifer Lawrence in her last film, Winter's Bone, now, she follows up with another wonderful discovery with Thomasin McKenzie. There is a naturalistic presence that does not seem artificial in reacting to certain situations or adapting to different environment. She gives a confident performance that is on the level of Ben Foster's. I bought them as father and daughter.

In a way, this is a two-character film but Debra Granik paints it as much more than that as she displays the pot of America that is rarely glimpsed at. She centers on America's underclass in which a tiny part of society is struggling to be parallel to the definition of the normal American community, which is similar to her last movie. I don't understand why Granik has not gotten a movie since Winter's Bone, which was on my list of the best movies of 2010. She has a keen eye for creating a story in a rare environment but creating a story with such fulfilling themes and taking its time to flesh its characters and wrapping it up like a bow. She is a great talent. And, the movie is honest and handles the father-daughter relationship with tactfulness that is quietly powerful and heartbreaking near the end that you know that it is all about times changing and they have to change too. This is one of the best movies of the year.

****



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