Leave No Trace

Leave No Trace

It's difficult to discuss Leave No Trace without spoilers, since it's a pretty simple film. Father and daughter live alone in the wilderness. When the government finds them and intervenes they're taken to the city where they try to fit in. Unable to fit in they escape to the wilds again, but their differing experiences with civilization, father's negative, and daughter's positive, begins to drive a wedge between them.

While the plot is pretty simple, the emotion-laden questions it brings up, such as "what is home?", "what is family?", "what is the importance of community?", and "what is the responsibility of the State?" are deep, complex wells to explore, and Leave No Trace explores them in a way that is not heavy-handed. The film itself just offers up questions, not simple answers, so in a way it leaves no trace itself.

The Good:

• virtually everything, but in particular Thomasin McKenzie's Oscar-worthy performance as the daughter

The Bad

• nothing, although the film can be a bit of a downer

The Verdict: **** out of *****