Leave No Trace

Friday night I went to see Leave No Trace at a screening that was completely full!  I absolutely love it when an independent film gets a lot of buzz and this film certainly deserves the acclaim it is receiving.  It is a brilliant character study about a father and daughter relationship and I had such an emotional response to both main characters.  I have not been able to stop thinking about it.  Will (Ben Foster) is a combat veteran suffering from PTSD living off the land in Oregon with his 13-year-old daughter Tom (Thomasin McKenzie).  Their existence isn't idyllic (the brutal honesty is what makes this film so compelling) but it is what Will needs and it is all that Tom has known (there is not a lot of exposition but the scenes of them quietly going about their daily routine do more to establish their bond than pages of dialogue would).  After they are discovered and come under the auspices of social services, they begin an often perilous journey of discovery that ultimately leads to redemption for both of them.  I understood the choices that both of them make at the end of the film.  Will has a need to live off the grid because he cannot abide the rules and conventions that other people impose upon him and that is often very appealing to me.  Tom loves her father but often questions his choices and his ability to keep her safe.  She longs for stability and connections with other people (her interactions with the people she meets are so poignant in their portrayal of human kindness) and it is heartbreaking when she realizes that his life does not have to be hers.  I can relate to the need to let people go for your own good.  The redemption at the end of the film is painful but it is there.  I had tears in my eyes as the lights came on in the theater because it felt so bleak but there is a scene at the end where Tom leaves food in the forest for another recluse and that felt like a metaphor for Will's well-being. Foster is brilliant as Will but I was so impressed with McKenzie who more than holds her own with him in a physically demanding role.  I highly recommend this this very moving film.