"Lean on Pete" and "Leave no Trace"

I knew very little about "Lean on Pete" going in, only that it was about a racehorse named Lean on Pete, and that it was some kind of coming-of-age film. I assumed that it was a typical feel-good narrative about an underdog rising to glory in the racing world, in the same vein as "Seabiscuit." "Lean on Pete" is definitely not that kind of movie. Instead, it's a much more unpredictable, harrowing story about a teenager, Charley (Charlie Plummer), who struggles to get by alongside his irresponsible father Ray (Travis Fimmel). Charley becomes obsessed with Lean on Pete, who belongs to Del (Steve Buscemi), a horse trainer that he works for.

Andrew Haigh, who made "45 Years" and "Weekend," wrote and directed "Lean on Pete." And it's very much a film in his wheelhouse, where the main character's interior emotional journey is always at the forefront. It's not an easy journey either, full of disillusionment, loss, and moments of despair. Little time is spent on Charley bonding with the aging racehorse. Instead, we learn the lonely ins and outs of Charley's life, mostly spent at the racetrack, the stables, or at the barebones apartment he shares with his father. It's a hardscrabble world full of blue collar folks, living on the margins. Del is friendly, but his economic prospects are poor. Ray loves his son, but barely pulls his own weight, and offers little support. Charley has to learn his hardest lessons on his own.

Most of the story is told through the cinematography, following Charley on his journeys through the Pacific Northwest. The visuals are bleakly beautiful at times, emphasizing the harsh terrain and Charley's isolation. Charlie Plummer's performance is also vital, as he spends so much time onscreen essentially by himself. He doesn't say much, but proves a compelling figure, vulnerable but hardy in the face of adversity. Haigh's filmmaking is sparse and unsentimental, letting scenes play out matter-of-factly, and leaving many questions unanswered. I found the film a difficult watch, but a very rewarding one. I had no idea where the story was going from one minute to the next, but was always completely invested in Charley's fate.

"Leave no Trace" is similarly a coming-of-age story about a teenager who has to learn how to live on her own terms. Thirteen year-old Tom (Thomasin McKenzie) survives in the wilderness with her PTSD-afflicted father Will (Ben Foster). The pair live off the land and make camp in a national park together, carefully hidden from the rest of the world. One day, however, Tom is spotted and the authorities get involved. Suddenly, the pair are thrust back into society - Tom discovering it as a newcomer, and Will forced to confront everything that he left behind. And for the first time, real tensions develop between father and daughter that threaten their relationship.

Quite a bit of the film takes place in and around Oregon, but very different parts of it than we see in "Lean on Pete." Tom and Will's world is a lushly green one, full of forests and wilderness. The environments are very immersive, and director Debra Granik lets her actors' often worldless interactions drive much of the story. Will's reasons for going off the grid are easy to suss out, but remain largely unremarked upon by any of the characters. Foster and McKenzie's performances are stellar, telling us everything we need to know about their characters' interior lives with little dialogue. McKenzie in particular is a promising new talent, with a wonderfully bright, self-assured presence.

I like how deliberately paced the film is. It's not slow or uneventful, but there's a patience to it, giving us a chance to experience each new development and change of scenery along with Tom, and appreciate how it impacts her. I also find its worldview a tremendously appealing one. Though life in modern society is unbearable for Will, for understandable reasons, everyone that he and Tom meet are perfectly sympathetic towards them, and only want to help. That help isn't always welcome, but there's an absence of any malice or disrespect. The major conflict ends up being between Tom and Will's diverging attitudes toward modern civilization, but it's handled with remarkable empathy and care. And in the end, "Leave No Trace" turns out to be one of the most touching films I've seen in some time.

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