Leave No Trace: Living “Off-The Grid”

Debra Granik's "Winter's Bone" (2010) launched Jennifer Lawrence's career, and now writer/director Granik's latest film, "Leave No Trace," stars another terrific female actor making her debut, Thomasin McKenzie.  Her performance and Ben Foster's are both AAW.  The movie is based on the novel "My Abandonment" by Peter Rock. Will (Foster) and his about-13-year-old daughter, Tom (McKenzie), are living under-the-radar in a park in Portland, Oregon. They seem to be happy there and obviously have a very close and loving relationship.  Will is totally psychiatrically-disabled due to severe PTSD.  He and Tom live off his Veterans' disability benefits and the extra money he makes selling his prescription drugs to people living in a tent city just outside of the park.  They occasionally make a brief trip to town in order to pick up supplies. One day, the police unexpectedly raid their campsite, and Will and Tom are forced to leave the park.  Initially, they are separated, which causes intense painful emotional reactions for both, but they are soon reunited.  Unfortunately, Will can't live around anyone except Tom for more than a few days, which severely limits their life options.  Their relationship is fascinating and emotionally-compelling, since Tom is still a young girl who needs the guidance of her father, yet she is also acutely aware of her father's disability and that she is his care-taker, too. Will can't cope with any other living situation except living in a forest with Tom, away from all civilization.  Tom, however, is a normal young girl who is curious about the world she doesn't get to experience, and she longs for contact with others.  How this conflict plays out is the essence of the film. The acting by the two leads is spectacular and makes the film worth the trip to the BS now, although it will work fine as a rental.  I suspect Foster and McKenzie will receive either AA and/or Golden Globe nominations, so the movie will probably "leave a trace!"