Debra Granik

Stream of the Week: LEAVE NO TRACE – his demons, not hers

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Thomasin Harcourt McKenzie and Ben Foster in a scene from Debra Granik’s LEAVE NO TRACE. Courtesy of SFFILM.

Here is the best movie of 2018 – the unforgettable coming of age film Leave No Trace. Ben Foster and Thomasin McKenzie star as a dad-daughter team who challenge conventional thinking about homelessness and healthy parenting.  Leave No Trace is writer-director Debra Granik’s first narrative feature since her Winter’s Bone (which I had rated as the best film of 2010).

When we meet Will (Foster) and his daughter Tom (McKenzie), they are engaging in extremely low impact camping in a fern-rich Oregon forest, to the point of solar cooking foraged mushrooms on a mylar sheet.  Dad and daughter are both survivalist experts and work together as a highly trained team.  They have the fond, respectful, communicative relationship that most families with teen children aspire to but can only fantasize about.

But Will and Tom are not on vacation. They do not consider themselves homeless, because the forest is their home.   However, their lifestyle just isn’t consistent with contemporary thinking about child welfare.  Furthermore, living in a public park is illegal,and when they are discovered, social service authorities are understandably and justifiably concerned.  Investigators find Tom to be medically and emotionally healthy, Will to be free of drug or alcohol abuse, and there has been no child abuse or neglect – other than having ones child living outdoors and not going to school.

Will is a veteran who has been scarred by his military service, and he is clearly anti-social.  But Will is not your stereotypical PTSD-addled movie vet.  He is a clear thinker.  His behavior, which can range to the bizarre, is not impulsive but deliberate.

Fortunately, the Oregon, social services authorities are remarkably open-minded, and they place Will and Tom in a remote rural setting in their own house at a rural Christmas Tree farm.  Will can work on the farm, Tom can go the school, and there’s a liberal non-denominational church filled with kind folks.  It’s a massive accommodation to Will and Tom’s lifestyle, only with the additions of living under a roof and public education.

Tom blossoms with social contact, and particularly enjoys the local 4-H and one kid’s pet rabbit named Chainsaw.  Tom begins to understand how much she needs human connection – and not just with her dad,

But Will can’t help but feel defeated.  When Tom suggests that they try to adapt to their new setting, he scowls, “We’re wearing their clothes, we’re living in their house, we’re eating their food, we’re doing their work. We’ve adapted”.  She argues, “Did you try?”, “Why are we doing this?”, and “Dad, this isn’t how it used to be”.

Ben is so damaged that his parenting can nurture Tom for only so long.  Leave No Trace is about how he has raised her to this point.  Has he imparted his demons to her?  Has he helped her become strong and grounded enough to grow without him?

Thomasin Harcourt McKenzie and Ben Foster in a scene from Debra Granik’s LEAVE NO TRACE. Courtesy of SFFILM.

Winter’s Bone launched the career of Jennifer Lawrence, and Leave No Trace might do the same for newcomer Thomasin McKenzie.  McKenzie is riveting as she authentically takes Tom from a parented child to an independent young woman.  At the San Francisco International Film Festival screening, producer and co-writer Anne Rosellini said “there’s an ‘otherness’ to McKenzie,” who had “tremendous insight into the character”.  Rosellini added that McKenzie and Ben Foster bonded before the shoot, as they rehearsed with a survivalist coach.

Foster is no stranger to troubled characters (The Messenger, Rampart, Hell or High Water).  Here, he delivers a remarkably intense and contained performance as a man who will not allow himself an outburst no matter what turbulence roils inside him.  Rosellini noted that “Will is elusive, a mysterious character to everybody”.  It’s a performance that will be in the conversation about Oscar nominations.  Actors Jeff Kober, Dale Dickey, Dana Millican and Isaiah Stone (the little brother in Winter’s Bone) are also excellent in smaller roles.

Leave No Trace is thoughtful and emotionally powerful.  Superbly well-crafted and impeccably acted, it’s a Must See. Leave No Trace is available for streaming from Amazon, iTunes, Vudu, YouTube and Google Play.

LEAVE NO TRACE: his demons, not hers

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Thomasin Harcourt McKenzie and Ben Foster in a scene from Debra Granik’s LEAVE NO TRACE.  Courtesy of SFFILM.

Here is the best movie of 2018 – so far – the unforgettable coming of age film Leave No Trace. Ben Foster and Thomasin McKenzie star as a dad-daughter team who challenge conventional thinking about homelessness and healthy parenting.    Leave No Trace is writer-director Debra Granik’s first narrative feature since her Winter’s Bone (which I had rated as the best film of 2010).

When we meet Will (Foster) and his daughter Tom (McKenzie), they are engaging in extremely low impact camping in a fern-rich Oregon forest, to the point of solar cooking foraged mushrooms on a mylar sheet.  Dad and daughter are both survivalist experts and work together as a highly trained team.  They have the fond, respectful, communicative relationship that most families with teen children aspire to but can only fantasize about.

But Will and Tom are not on vacation. They do not consider themselves homeless, because the forest is their home.   However, their lifestyle just isn’t consistent with contemporary thinking about child welfare.  Furthermore, living in a public park is illegal,and when they are discovered, social service authorities are understandably and justifiably concerned.  Investigators find Tom to be medically and emotionally healthy, Will to be free of drug or alcohol abuse, and there has been no child abuse or neglect – other than having ones child living outdoors and not going to school.

Will is a veteran who has been scarred by his military service, and he is clearly anti-social.  But Will is not your stereotypical PTSD-addled movie vet.  He is a clear thinker.  His behavior, which can range to the bizarre, is not impulsive but deliberate.

Fortunately, the Oregon, social services authorities are remarkably open-minded, and they place Will and Tom in a remote rural setting in their own house at a rural Christmas Tree farm.  Will can work on the farm, Tom can go the school, and there’s a liberal non-denominational church filled with kind folks.  It’s a massive accommodation to Will and Tom’s lifestyle, only with the additions of living under a roof and public education.

Tom blossoms with social contact, and particularly enjoys the local 4-H and one kid’s pet rabbit named Chainsaw.  Tom begins to understand how much she needs human connection – and not just with her dad,

But Will can’t help but feel defeated.  When Tom suggests that they try to adapt to their new setting, he scowls, “We’re wearing their clothes, we’re living in their house, we’re eating their food, we’re doing their work. We’ve adapted”.  She argues, “Did you try?”, “Why are we doing this?”, and “Dad, this isn’t how it used to be”.

Ben is so damaged that his parenting can nurture Tom for only so long.  Leave No Trace is about how he has raised her to this point.  Has he imparted his demons to her?  Has he helped her become strong and grounded enough to grow without him?

Thomasin Harcourt McKenzie and Ben Foster in a scene from Debra Granik’s LEAVE NO TRACE. Courtesy of SFFILM.

Winter’s Bone launched the career of Jennifer Lawrence, and Leave No Trace might do the same for newcomer Thomasin McKenzie.  McKenzie is riveting as she authentically takes Tom from a parented child to an independent young woman.  At the San Francisco International Film Festival screening, producer and co-writer Anne Rosellini said “there’s an ‘otherness’ to McKenzie,” who had “tremendous insight into the character”.  Rosellini added that McKenzie and Ben Foster bonded before the shoot, as they rehearsed with a survivalist coach.

Foster is no stranger to troubled characters (The Messenger, Rampart, Hell or High Water).  Here, he delivers a remarkably intense and contained performance as a man who will not allow himself an outburst no matter what turbulence roils inside him.  Rosellini noted that “Will is elusive, a mysterious character to everybody”.  It’s a performance that will be in the conversation about Oscar nominations.  Actors Jeff Kober, Dale Dickey, Dana Millican and Isaiah Stone (the little brother in Winter’s Bone) are also excellent in smaller roles.

Leave No Trace is thoughtful and emotionally powerful.  Superbly well-crafted and impeccably acted, it’s a Must See.

DVD of the Week: Winter's Bone

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My pick for 2010’s best movie to date is Winter’s Bone, which is just now available on DVD.  A 17-year-old Ozarks girl is determined to save the family home by tracking down her meth dealer dad – dead or alive.  The girl’s journey through a series of nasty and nastier Southern Missouri crank cookers is riveting – without any explosions, gunfights or chase scenes.  Every moment of this film seems completely real.  Winter’s Bone won the screenwriting and grand jury prizes at Sundance.

With just her second feature, Debra Granik has emerged as an important filmmaker to watch.  She presents an unflinching look at this subculture without ever resorting to stereotype.  Granik hits a home run with every artistic choice, from the locations to the spare soundtrack to the pacing to the casting.  I’ll be watching for her next film.

As the protagonist, 20-year-old Jennifer Lawrence is in every scene.  With a minimum of dialogue, she creates a lead character of rarely seen determination.

Dale Dickey is exceptional as a criminal matriarch.  John Hawkes (the kind Sol Star in Deadwood)  also gives a tremendous performance as the ready-to-explode Uncle Teardrop.

For my recent DVD choices (including trailers), see DVDs of the Week.  Winter’s Bone is on my lists of Best Movies of 2010 – So Far and 5 Great Hillbilly Movies.

Winter's Bone: Debra Granik

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Director Debra Granik

 

Winter’s Bone Director Debra Granik has delivered one of the year’s best American films – with just her second feature.  Every moment of Winter’s Bone seems absolutely real and absolutely true.  Granik shot in southern Missouri, and used local people, local homes, local clothes and local music – all choices that result in the film’s authenticity. Even the Army recruiter is a real-life Army recruiter.  Similarly, the soundtrack is spare and pure – pretty much just the snapping twigs, chirping birds, barking dogs and sputtering pickups of the Ozarks; the audience feels the gripping story without the filmmaker layering on manipulative music.

Granik’s first feature, Down to the Bone, won acting awards for its star Vera Farmiga as a grocery clerk mom who undergoes drug rehab without support from her husband or employer.  In both Winter’s Bone and Down to the Bone, Granik lets her actors act, most compellingly when they are not talking.  Down to the Bone is available on DVD and Netflix streaming.

Granik and screenwriting partner Anne Rosellini were looking for a story that featured a strong female protagonist ans found it in Daniel Woodrell’s novel.  Here are Granik and Woodrell on NPR’s Fresh Air.

Richard von Busack also has an excellent interview with Granik and Lawrence – click here and scroll below his review.

Thanks to David H. Schleicher of the Schleicher Spin, here is the blog of Marideth Sisco, the musical consultant for Winter’s Bone, and the lead singer in the pickin’ scene.

Winter's Bone

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Winter’s Bone is the year’s best live action movie so far.  A 17-year-old Ozarks girl is determined to save the family home by tracking down her meth dealer dad – dead or alive.  The girl’s journey through a series of nasty and nastier Southern Missouri crank cookers is riveting – without any explosions, gunfights or chase scenes.  Every moment of this film seems completely real.  Winter’s Bone won the screenwriting and grand jury prizes at Sundance.

With just her second feature, Debra Granik has emerged as an important filmmaker to watch.  She presents an unflinching look at this subculture without ever resorting to stereotype.  Granik hits a home run with every artistic choice, from the locations to the spare soundtrack to the pacing to the casting.  I’ll be watching for her next film.

As the protagonist, 20-year-old Jennifer Lawrence is in every scene.  With a minimum of dialogue, she creates a lead character of rarely seen determination.

Dale Dickey is exceptional as a criminal matriarch.  John Hawkes (the kind Sol Star in Deadwood) also gives a tremendous performance as the ready-to-explode Uncle Teardrop.