Leave No Trace (2018)

Film: Leave No Trace (2018)
Stars: Ben Foster, Thomasin McKenzie, Jeff Kober, Dale Dickey
Director: Debra Granik
Oscar History: No nominations
Snap Judgment Ranking: 3/5 stars

Yesterday we talked about Shoplifters, a film that deals with poverty and child abuse in ways that we haven't frequently seen at the movies.  With Leave No Trace, we do so in yet another way, particularly when it comes to poverty (though in my opinion there are moments in the film that clearly border onto criminal child abuse, but we'll get there in a second).  Poverty has been one of the central hallmarks of the movies of 2018, but Leave No Trace makes it seem less like a burden & more like a choice.  This isn't meant to be offensive (and it shouldn't be-we'll get there in a second too...there's a lot to unpack in Granik's latest film), but it's the sort of carefully-constructed movie with a lot of messages that don't always stick, but are anchored by a clear enough vision that you still come away liking the picture.

(Spoilers Ahead) The movie takes place in a park near Portland, Oregon, where an Iraq War veteran named Will (Foster) lives with his young daughter Tom (McKenzie).  The two of them don't quite live off of the land, but largely enjoy an existence outside the reaches of society, only going to town for supplies (Will's VA-issued pain medications are sold illegally so that they have the money for food & supplies).  The two are eventually found out when Tom slips up and is spotted, resulting in them being processed and taken to a Christmas tree farm, where Will works (and is miserable being surrounded by so many people), while Tom, who has never had a relationship with anyone other than her father, enjoys meeting children her own age and likes being around other people.

The film at this point felt like it could go a couple of different ways.  The scenes on the farm and when the social worker keeps coming to give them "stuff they might use" reek of consumerism in a way that is downright stomach-churning.  We live in a deeply consumerist society, but it's hard to show that naturally until you look at two people like Will & Tom, who are largely getting along fine without society (or so we assume) until we see someone critique whether Christmas trees are "pretty" enough to be shipped down to California.  In an era of climate change caused by deforestation and unnecessary use of fossil fuels, it's easy to understand why Will cannot stomach such indulgences.

But the end of the film, much like Shoplifters, changes our perspectives.  We understand that Will is doing this less because he's an eco-warrior (this movie is not Captain Fantastic), but instead because he doesn't have the mental ability to be around other people.  As the film progresses, we understand what he is doing to his daughter is a choice, essentially making her injure herself in the woods because of his own mental defects and inability to treat them, making him an unsuitable parent for the young girl, who doesn't have the same afflictions and wants to be a part of society, albeit one that stays on its edges.  When they meet Dale (Dickey), a woman who runs a campsite that they can stay at in Washington, it feels like the perfect solution, but it's also where Will has to lay down his cards-that he can't find a compromise and stay with his daughter, so she essentially must leave him in order to start her own life, with them being separated, perhaps forever, because Will can no longer be a part of her world.

The film's greatest star is its script, meandering as it was (the eco-warrior portion felt like a red herring, and perhaps to some degree a missed opportunity).  The acting is fine, though I don't feel like McKenzie is impressive so much as she's very quiet.  She's also not even remotely a supporting role (she's easily the lead character, far more so than Foster, who is also a lead but would be a more forgivable transgression).  Honestly, of all of the actors trying to get by with supporting instead of lead this year (and there are a lot of them), none feel more out-of-line than McKenzie, who is only being marketed as supporting because she's young and not famous yet, and nothing to do with her work as we're seeing her story onscreen.  But still, it's a good movie-not as powerful as Winter's Bone, but definitely continuing to make Granik's scripts a star.