Leave No Trace (2018)
RT Audience Score: 80%
Awards & Nominations: 18 wins & 94 nominations
Leave No Trace takes an effectively low-key approach to a potentially sensationalistic story — and further benefits from brilliant work by Ben Foster and Thomasin McKenzie.
Leave No Trace is a movie that will leave a trace on your heart. Director Debra Granik’s compassionate take on PTSD in military veterans is both heart-wrenching and heartwarming. The film follows the story of a father and daughter who live off the grid in the woods, and their journey to find a place to call home. The subtle ways we witness the daughter’s rebellion and the father’s struggle to adapt to society are striking. It’s a small film, but a quietly memorable one that will make you appreciate the simple things in life. Plus, who doesn’t love a good camping trip?
Production Company(ies)
MSNBC Films,
Distributor
Bleecker Street Media
Release Type
Theatrical, Theatrical (Limited)
Filming Location(s)
Squaw Mountain Ranch – 48176 SE Tumala Mountain Rd, Estacada, Oregon, USA
MPAA / Certificate
Rated PG for thematic material throughout
Year of Release
2018
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby
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Aspect ratio:1.85 : 1
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Runtime:1h 48m
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Language(s):English
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Jun 29, 2018 Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Oct 2, 2018
Genre(s)
Drama
Keyword(s)
Leave No Trace, Ben Foster, Thomasin McKenzie, Debra Granik, Anne Harrison, Linda Reisman, Anne Rosellini, Drama, PG, Thematic Material Throughout, English, Bleecker Street Media, $6.0M, reviewed by Claudia Puig, Sandra Hall, Mark Kermode, Robert Daniels, Adam Kempenaar, David Stratton, Brian Eggert, Raquel Stecher, MaryAnn Johanson, Jennifer Merin, Sandie Angulo Chen, Nikki Baughan, Hidden Figures, Free Solo, Wonder, Hail, Caesar!, The Other Side of Hope, Forest Park, Portland, Oregon, father-daughter relationship, survival, PTSD, wilderness, authorities, journey, box office, limited release, streaming, produced by Anne Harrison, Linda Reisman, Anne Rosellini, directed by Debra Granik, written by Debra Granik, Anne Rosellini, starring Ben Foster, Thomasin McKenzie, Jeff Kober, Dale Dickey, Isaiah Stone, Michael Draper
Worldwide gross: $7,682,928
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $9,041,068
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,996
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 985,940
US/Canada gross: $6,046,104
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $7,114,897
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,709
US/Canada opening weekend: $219,140
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $257,878
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,583
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): NA
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): NA
Production budget ranking: NA
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
ROI to date (est.): NA
ROI ranking: NA
Thomasin McKenzie – Tom
Jeff Kober – Mr. Walters
Dale Dickey – Dale
Isaiah Stone – Isaiah
Michael Draper – Runner
Director(s)
Debra Granik
Writer(s)
Debra Granik, Anne Rosellini
Producer(s)
Anne Harrison, Linda Reisman, Anne Rosellini
Film Festivals
Sundance, Tribeca, Cannes
Awards & Nominations
18 wins & 94 nominations
Academy Awards
All Critics (249) | Top Critics (68) | Fresh (249)
[Director Debra Granik] focuses on the humanity of the characters without ever judging them.
December 14, 2019
Claudia Puig
FilmWeek (KPCC – NPR Los Angeles)
TOP CRITIC
Granik’s star-making instincts are as sharp as ever.
September 14, 2018 | Rating: 4/5
Sandra Hall
Sydney Morning Herald
TOP CRITIC
I loved this film.
August 28, 2018
Mark Kermode
Kermode & Mayo’s Film Review
TOP CRITIC
Leave No Trace, in the biggest of ironies, leaves the greatest of traces upon us.
August 27, 2018 | Rating: 4/4
Robert Daniels
812filmreviews
TOP CRITIC
The subtle ways we witness [Tom’s] epiphany, her little flickers of rebellion, are striking.
August 24, 2018 | Rating: 4/5
Adam Kempenaar
Filmspotting
TOP CRITIC
Leave No Trace is a small film, but a quietly memorable one.
August 17, 2018 | Rating: 4/5
David Stratton
The Australian
TOP CRITIC
Granik brilliantly delivers the viewer into the characters’ spatially and socially secluded world, making otherwise normal, crowded living environments seem oppressive and even dangerous by comparison.
March 11, 2022 | Rating: 3.5/4
Brian Eggert
Deep Focus Review
a truly superb drama that offers no answers and just takes viewers along for the ride.
January 11, 2022
Raquel Stecher
Quelle Movies
Writer-director Debra Granik’s take on PTSD in military veterans is of course compassionate but perhaps slightly less tolerant of the isolation that her male protagonist…
November 23, 2021
MaryAnn Johanson
AWFJ Women on Film
Debra Granik’s Leave No Trace is a gripping drama…
November 23, 2021
Jennifer Merin
AWFJ Women on Film
Despite the heartbreaking stories she tells, she gives them (particularly the young women in her films) a flicker of hope in the darkness.
November 23, 2021
Sandie Angulo Chen
AWFJ Women on Film
[It] concerns itself with individuals attempting to exist outside societal norms and, in doing so, proves to be a moving study of love, loss and what it means to truly belong.
November 23, 2021
Nikki Baughan
AWFJ Women on Film…
Plot
A father and daughter living off the grid in a nature reserve near Portland are forced to leave and embark on a journey to find a new home after a small mistake tips off authorities in “Leave No Trace.”
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
Ben Foster delivers brilliant work in Leave No Trace according to critics.
Debra-Granik.jpg