Leave No Trace

A simple and yet so effectively affecting and heartbreaking story by Debra Granik. By itself, it was not an entirely original story, but Granik, together with a superb Ben Foster and a star-in-the-making Thomasin Harcourt McKenzie, presented a quiet, powerful and smartly written film that felt honest and sincere. The film - adapted from Peter Rock’s novel by Granik and Anne Rosellini - had no use for excessive dialogue or dumbed down narrative, it relied on the relationship between Foster’s and McKenzie’s characters to anchor the film, and these two actors really nailed their parts. Although the concept in itself was not wholly original, the execution still allowed for uncertainty that never felt forced or contrived, and the ending was never inevitable. There laid the power of effective storytelling. A beautifully directed film by Granik, and like Lynne Ramsey’s “You Were Never Really Here”, another brilliant piece of female-directed/written film-making that was overlooked by the Oscars. Pity.