20 Best Movies Of 2018

By Jack Pooley / December 24, 2018

7. Leave No Trace

Debra Granik's first feature film since 2010's Winter's Bone was most certainly worth the wait, another quietly devastating look at fraught family ties topped by a stupendous pair of leads.

Ben Foster is magnificent as a PTSD-afflicted war veteran living in the wilderness with his daughter, played by astonishing newcomer Thomasin McKenzie.

Together, their restrained performances combine with Granik's note-perfect direction to deliver a simple, low-key story that packs a real emotional wallop.

Some may find it too "slow" or subtle for its own good, but as a touching examination of fatherhood and mental illness, it's easily one of the year's most slyly heart-wrenching efforts.