Leave No Trace Film Review: A Coming-Of-Age Story
From its breath-taking cinematography to its powerful dialogue, Leave No Trace is a hauntingly beautiful, coming-of-age story about a young girl fighting to escape the crushing weight of her father’s mental illness. Written and directed by Debra Granik (Winter’s Bone), this independent film strives to make socio-political commentary on America’s failed support systems for veterans of war and their families.
Tom (Thomasin McKenzie) not only experiences the death of her mother but also due to this systematic failure, the death of the father she once knew as he becomes consumed by his PTSD. Granik uses symbolism to illustrate the growing physical and emotional separation between Tom and her father, Will (Ben Foster). Rather than simply telling the audience how to feel, Granik uses symbolism to create an almost voyeuristic experience in which we are individually immersed in the characters’ lives. This film evokes a sense of emotional discomfort within its audience. Rather than using dialogue and the plot to communicate feeling, Leave No Trace uses symbolism to reach the audience’s unguarded subconscious, which creates a feeling of intimacy between the viewers and the characters.
Granik uses symbolism to strengthen and eventually break the codependent bond between Will and Tom. As Tom develops her own views on the civilized world, Will is consumed by a paralyzing fear of it. Point-of-view shots exemplify everything Will hears in the civilized world is loud, irritatingly repetitive, and industrial. He is hyper aware of helicopters and begins to work with large machinery such as chainsaws, ironically on a farm logging trees. Tom has a completely different experience. She is oblivious to the harsh terrain of this new world and embraces it, worrying her father. The most striking comparison between their two realities, is when Tom stumbles upon an escaped domesticated rabbit named Chainsaw. She is able to handle him immediately and bring him back to his owner, whom she then begins a friendship with. These differing interactions with the modern world lead to the fundamental incompatibility within their relationship. As any parent would, Will struggles to come to terms with his daughter’s exposure and fascination with the world that hurt him so terribly. And because of this, Will becomes desperate to leave without a trace.
As Will and Tom make their way into the cold, damp wilderness of Oregon, we begin to see how Tom has acclimatized to the modern world through her complaints of exhaustion and discomfort. Will tries his best to help her revert back to their old lifestyle however, she realizes her unhappiness in leaving society, and learns her father cannot provide the socialization she desires from society.
Tom’s conflict with and eventual acceptance of society, transforms Leave No Trace into a coming-of-age story that focuses on a young girl’s journey towards independence. Although she initially experiences similar discomfort to Will, to her, society begins to symbolize freedom and self-discovery. Through this adjustment into society, Tom realizes she doesn’t have to follow her father’s path of loneliness and isolation. Tom says, “same thing that is wrong with you isn’t wrong with me”, to Will, which is the first time his PTSD is spoken about directly. Granik captures both the physical and emotional pain of being forced to return somewhere where you know you don’t belong. This suffering becomes evident when Will decides that they are going to leave the commune they had been staying at, but Tom wants to stay. She acknowledges her desire and says to her father “I know you would stay if you could”. Completing her coming-of-age journey to independence and maturity; Tom understands her father’s need for isolation just as she needs socialization.
Leave No Trace is an extraordinary piece of art that centers around the internal conflict one feels when finding their place in this world. There is a great deal to unpack in this film that my analysis could only scratch the surface on; I would highly recommend watching it. As a writer, Granik is able to manipulate audiences’ emotions through implicit storytelling and as a director, she brings it to life with powerful nonverbal performances and rich visual symbolism. This film is something entirely unique while it still represents the commonalities in the experience of finding ourselves.
Rating: 4.9/5
