Tom (Thomasina McKenzie brilliant in her first lead role) is a teenage girl who lives in a lovingly created shelter in the national park outside Portland with her father Will (Ben Foster). Ben struggles with PTSD and is still coming to terms with the loss of his wife, as a result he feels the need to hide away from society and keep moving from one wilderness hideout to the next.
When Tom and Will are found they are taken away from their shelter and into the care of social services. After being put through a barrage of tests they are given a hut in a rural area where Will is made to work in the logging industry and Tom is signed onto the school roll (though social services admit that her father;s home schooling means that she is in advance of what is expected of her age group). Will wants to keep moving but Tom enjoys the company of other young people, learning how to look after bees and handle rabbits.
This is a beautifully film, the woods are gorgeous and the acting is low key and all the more moving for that. The viewer is left wondering how we should look after those in society who don't fit in and how do families cope when their members want such different things from each other.
There's an excellent (and longer) review by Kevin Jones on the Cineccentric site here.
Definitely a recommended film, Leave no Trace is screening at the Filmhouse in Edinburgh until Thursday 26 July. Find out more and book here.
Sounds like a good film. Thanks!
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