REVIEW – “Leave No Trace” Does Leave a Few Trace Elements of Plot Behind an Otherwise Actor-Driven Classic

by Joe Hammerschmidt

[NOTE: This film reviewed as part of the 2018 Seattle International Film Festival.]

The wondrous beauty of northern Oregon and parts of Portland had always looked more special when handled by filmmakers who know the area with every intent of the utmost care. Therefore, it shouldn’t come as a large surprise director Debra Granik (Winter’s Bone) took on the bold family epic Leave No Trace with an equal affection for her actors as well as their setting, and the way both basic elements compliment one another in any given shot. This, despite not completely knowing the area like the back of her hand, but building an immediate fondness. The captivating imagery is almost breathtaking, Ben Foster’s confident leading part could count as potential Oscar-worthy material, and the film’s baseline plot may have been helped by slight tweaks here and there for the sake of pacing. Needless to say, some slight issues abound, but don’t let that get in the sightlines of a rather emotional father/daughter tale that still brings home the feels, to a small degree.

Anyone expecting a simpler retelling of “roughing it” films like Captain Fantastic was for SIFF audiences two years prior will not be disappointed in the merits of this family drama. Foster leads the charge as the valiant Will, a single father fighting against the ravages of PTSD while raising his teenage daughter Tom (New Zealand-born newcomer Thomason Harcourt McKenzie) in the structured wilderness of a sprawling urban park just outside of Portland. His perception of reality is beyond altered, while her life had always been a complete separation from the common ground of modern society. They have a strict code by which they survive on the day-to-day, foraging, practicing drills, and trading necessary medication for petty cash. And it works for them, not so much for the city trying to put the pair and others in reputable housing. Enter the sympathetic Jean (Portland film veteran Dana Millican), a local social worker who just wants to help in their transition out of the woods. Of course, Will is resistant while Tom is still at a ripe age of adjunct curiosity who’ll still follow her doting dad wherever he goes, but is a little more desperate for something different. Good ol’ dad does tend to complicate matters, however, choosing to escape state enforced housing in a breakneck attempt to return to the home he knows best, that of the harsh forest land.

Granik’s niche had always been with the exposing the hidden wilderness behind an otherwise advanced city if the mysterious wonder of Kansas City in Winter’s Bone is enough of a stark indicator. The subject matter was just as heavy there in a graphic depiction of drug influences on a small community. Now it’s more personal in Foster’s depiction of mental illness gone off the rails, and quite loftily. His career trajectory had allowed for many a win, and Trace is certainly no exception. Any doubt over a possible award season nod may have just been fully extinguished, much like Mackenzie, possibly best known to American audiences for her small part in the final Hobbit film shares in both the thrill of adventure, and its fruitless consequences with the same degree of focused and intensity as her adult co-stars, often outrivaling them when the chips really are down and Foster is left to bounce back after significant injuries hinder their journey ever so slightly.

The film’s simplistic visuals only strive to give our leads the best possible landscape to stick out the trials in. I do commend Michael McDonough, who’d worked with Miss Granik prior on Winter, for blending the ageless forestry with the time-locked Portland cityscape and instantly giving a feel of whether they could ever play together as one and the same locations. It’s almost like the scenery was a more valuable member of the cast than that of the actual stars, it’s that effective in giving off those sparks of a deep emotional impact so unexpected.

How Granik lays out the chartered course for both Foster and Mackenzie to travel isn’t as clear, with plenty of stumbles too easy to distract the character bonding. That’s only one small instance with multiple iterations throughout the film, they don’t necessarily cause trouble at the start, these small thematic road bumps, yet the longer we go, the more noticeable they may look. Granik, with co-writer Anne Rossellini, clearly put all their hearts toward doing justice to Peter Rock’s original novel. One of the clear difficulties they overlook for any page-to-screen adaptation is watching their pacing, which is terribly inconsistent, struggling to keep my attention most of the time, but far worse at the crucial third act, with an ending lacking in a tight definition. The empathy is present in spades, yet the purpose of the whole journey is nearly all but forgotten in favor of an aimless conclusion. I nearly lost the bond thought to have been constructed tightly around our impressive lead performers, all due to script antics that couldn’t have been better refined in time for filming. Just one small annoyance, ballooning unnecessarily to give the viewer less to cheer for at the home stretch.

The title Leave No Trace certainly fits still on the emotional warpath we’re carried towards, yet the plot pieces left behind rather render the heartfelt header mute. And that is a shame, when your casting goes above and beyond the normal throes of their pay grade to paint a picture of endless layers, and build a world no one else would understand. It will speak to fellow PTSD sufferers in similar crises and deserves to be experienced by as many audiences who could be in certain risk factors as a reminder of how imperfect we may be, but grateful we must for society’s positives, and not to ignore them. As a family story, it couldn’t have been more enjoyable; as a love letter to Oregon’s treeline, ditto; as a cautionary tale, it loses focus but still means well. It’s still worth watching but here given its literary inspiration, one could find more to take away by reading the book first off than opening oneself up to the added interpretation of an equally imperfect film version; one with a fiery passion, maybe a little over the mark (C+)

Leave No Trace opens in one Seattle theater this weekend, Regal’s downtown Meridian; expansion in coming weeks; rated PG for thematic material throughout; 110 minutes