Leave No Trace is one of those films.
The story of a PTSD sufferer and his teenage daughter living off grid, who are forced back into the 'civilised' world, it's a coming-of-age-tale, as well as a reflective piece about alternative living, and the harm done by well-meaning society.
As a piece of cinematic craft, it's difficult to see a single flaw with it. There's not a single scene out of place. It looks beautiful, sounds fantastic, and features heartbreaking performances from its leads Thomasin McKenzie and Ben Foster.
There's a documentary approach to the storytelling, both in the cuts that the film's editor, Jane Rizzo, makes as the characters carry out their day-to-day tasks, and in the acting of McKenzie and Foster, who deliver such naturalistic performances that the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences should stop looking for anyone else to fill the bill in March 2019.
Like the look and feel of the film, there's an authenticity to the story being told. It never comes close to falling into melodrama, every action seems right, proportionate. The people who populate it are generally kind, well-meaning, although often misguided. Characters are people, not symbols of the themes of the story, giving the tale the sense that it was recorded, not crafted.
It's also a film that will stay with you after you've seen it. In terms of thinking about the life lessons, in wondering if you could learn to feather wood, in comparing it with the Fox and the Hound (although that last one might just be me).
It's a film that deserves to be seen by as wide an audience as possible.
No comments:
Post a Comment