If you lived in Portland in 2004, you remember it: The discovery that, for years, a father and daughter had been living in Forest Park in an undetected campsite. They were eventually found and housed by the authorities, but soon disappeared again. The story inspired a novel, My Abandonment, written by Reed College creative writing professor Peter Rock, and that book has been adapted into a compassionate, graceful movie by Winterâs Bone director Debra Granik.
The father and daughter in Leave No Traceâplayed by Ben Foster and Thomasin McKenzieâarenât meant to be stand-ins for the actual people, and the movieâs plot doesnât precisely follow real-life events. But everything else about Leave No Trace feels entirely authentic, from its patient rendering of life in the pairâs urban-adjacent campsite to the way it shows how a parent and child are able to communicate without words. Foster is excellent as Will, a veteran coping with PTSD by getting as far as he can from the disturbing elements of civilization while also doing his best to provide for his daughter. But the movie belongs to McKenzie, whose extraordinary performance as daughter Tom is heartbreaking, inspiring, and unforgettable.
When we meet Tom, sheâs perfectly happy to live in the woods with her dad. After their discovery and relocation, though, her careful thirst for friendship becomes the movieâs quiet refrain. She loves her dad and doesnât want to betray him, but canât help her normal, natural craving for community. The movie tells us all this without explicitly putting any of it into dialogue; Leave No Traceâs best moments are when Granik lets McKenzieâs expressive eyes do the heavy lifting. Itâs a quintessential Oregon story, and one that feels especially connected to this moment, as we struggle to find homes for all the people whoâve ended up in this corner of the world.