Leave No Trace Drama Review

Trying a new format for the written reviews, in the form of a report card.  Feel free to let me know which method you prefer.

REPORT CARD

LEAVE NO TRACE  

SUMMARY:   Grade F	This movie fails on every level.  The cause of Will’s PTSD is never explained.  Neither is the life Will and Tom led before the death of Tom’s wife.  There is no transitional phase in the story arc.  While the script attempts to reveal Will’s thoughts behind his chosen lifestyle, it does so poorly; and does nothing to reveal Tom’s emotional shift from her father.
STARS	Ben Foster.  Thomasin Harcourt McKenzie.
TECH FOLKS:	Screenplay:  Debra Granik & Anne Rosellini. Cinematography:  Martin McDonough Editor: Jane Rizzo Director:  Debra Granik
PLOT:	LEAVE NO TRACE is written by Debra Granik & Anne Rosellini, based on the novel “My Abandonment” by Peter Rock.  Will (Ben Foster) and his teenage daughter, Tom (Thomasin Harcourt McKenzie), live off the grid for years in the forests of Portland, Oregon. When park rangers discover their lifestyle, both are put into social services. One can adapt, the other cannot, resulting in a clash between father and daughter.
ACTING   Grade D	Ben Foster is an amazing actor.  His talents here are wasted, as the material he works with is lame.  Outside of looking gloomy, which apparently all men do in woman directed films, he is offered no opportunity to display his talents.  Young Thomasin Harcourt McKenzie (one of the dreaded three-named people) shuffles through her role like an ingénue with dirty fingernails.
SCRIPT   Grade F	The story is one of conforming to society.  The authoritarian figures in the film are presented as purveyors of good, though they are destroying the remnants of a family.  Much of the father-daughter relationship is unexplained, making the final decision lame.
TECHNICAL:   Grade C	There is nothing in this film of note on the technical side.  Everyone performs in yeoman style.
RECOMMENDATIONS:	I would suggest you avoid this film at all costs.  It is slow and uninteresting.  It’s not that the subject matter is feeble, it is just presented poorly.  This would only appeal to staunch feminists who despise the concept of a single man raising a daughter.