A veteran battling personal trauma, lives with his daughter in the wilds of Oregon, until they’re discovered by the authorities. Pushed into the care of social services, the thirteen year old Tom is given a taste of domestication and slowly realised the trauma her father is living with. After escaping back into the wilderness with her father, Tom has to choose to follow her father’s path or take a road of her own. From the writing and directing talent that brought you Winter’s Bone (2010) everything about this is strong. Ben Foster is superb as the traumatised veteran doing his best to keep his daughter safe. Thomasin McKenzie is phenomenal as the soft spoken daughter trying to understand the pressures of normalising society. In lesser hand it could’ve been all about anger and trauma. Here it’s about love and understanding, and trying to find peace. You might be able to tell I liked this a lot.
Darrin // Nightingale 