To Leslie

I know absolutely nothing about this film. Other than the performance from Andrea Riseborough got a lot of attention for gatecrashing the Oscar's nominations. She plays Leslie. A firebrand Texan who wins $190k, but who we meet being kicked out of a cheap apartment, penniless. The money gone and bridges apparently torched to the ground. This is a gritty and true story of hopeful redemption. James (Owen Teague), her son hasn't given up hope and barely 10 minutes in, I'm fully onboard and praying that she doesn't screw this up. He's a good kid. I say kid, he's grown up and capable. More capable than Leslie, who's an alcoholic train wreck, who quickly dashes my hopes. It's hard to watch. Riseborough really is quite brilliant. Vile as Leslie but brilliant. You want to root for Leslie. Want her to find her feet. Gain the control she needs, but she doesn't make it easy and neither do those around her. Texas looks a lonely place, especially through her eyes. Dry heat and dust. Blue collar brutalism. Everyone just keeping moving slowly onward. You can appreciate the drudgery and Leslie's desire to "Just have some fun". Kicked out by James, she bounces around. Still drinking, incapable of looking after herself. There's plenty of bar scenes. Neon Miller signs on the walls as awful country music twangs in the background. It's like a slow motion car crash. Someone has got to find the brakes. Could that be Sweeney (Marc Maron), a nice guy charitable type who steps in with a job and roof. He's not daft though, he sees what she's up to, but he's patient. I like Maron a lot. I'm sure he'd admit he's not the best actor, but he's honest, homely. Maybe it helps that Maron understands what Leslie is about to go through. Riseborough is hauntingly good and together they grab this story by the horns. Almost quite literally, as things get a bit redneck at the town fair. Who doesn't love a bit of line dancing in the sun though. It's powerful stuff. It looks remarkably good too, despite the bleakness. I don't want to give anything away, but it's not a typical redemption tale. I've no idea how close to the true story it is, but it feels honest. There's no fluff, no needless sentiment. I've no idea if Riseborough will win the Oscar, but she deserves to as much as anyone. That said, the Oscar's are pointless anyway, but I'm thankful in this case that their existence brought me To Leslie.

The character was so repulsive that at first I didn't think I could ever find one redeeming quality in her. She was odious. So since I didn't yet know anybody else's character, and since the whole thing was getting to be a real bummer, you know, like real life can be, I thought about dumping the whole show. But out of curiosity, I decided to hang on a bit longer.

It paid off big time. This is a great movie. It is not preachy, not judgmental, you have no idea how it will end, and it does a satisfying job. The acting is great, the script is fantastic, and the story has total credibility. I'm glad I stayed with it.

There's nothing wrong with treading the same ground and exploring the same themes as other movies. To Leslie was an entertaining rendition of the "down and out, get back on your feet" trope. It was a good first movie for Michael Morris, who still needs to shake off some of that TV sentimentality. The movie exists in a world that's real enough to keep you engaged, but not so visceral that it turns you off. It meanders it's way from uncomfortable and tense to the territory of a 90's feel-good movie.

The film is essentially a vehicle for Andrea Riseborough who is always good, but I think she overdoes it a bit. For the most part she was excellent throughout this movie, but when the character ramps it up to 10 she tends to hit 11. There were times I had to remind myself that she's British because she assumed the identity of a Texan so well. Honorable mention to Marc Maron who impressed me. For the most part his role was nothing to write about, but I only ever knew him as a comedian and I was surprised to see him holding his own extended dialogues with an actress like Andrea Riseborough.

"To Leslie" was already on my watch list for the year before Andrea Riseborough was nominated for an Oscar, but her surprise nomination moved it to the top of my queue. Fans of her performance would have you believe it's the greatest thing ever etched into the eternity of cinema heaven, but I kept my expectations in check because we're talking about social media in 2023 and mankind has lost its ability to have perspective on literally anything.

And I was right to be cautious. Riseborough gives a good performance in a solid film. It's certainly better than many performances the Academy has nominated over the years, but not as good as many others. She's a very mannered actress, which has always prevented me from liking her in other things. I've never liked her more than I did in this, so there's that. But the bar wasn't set high. Her performance is showy and Oscar-baity, and she never for a second stops Acting with a capital "A."

The movie around her is standard issue addiction drama, misery porn for about an hour and a half and then a pat and tidy redemptive ending tacked on when the writers knew they had pushed the audience's endurance for feeling crappy just shy of the breaking point.

The film's best asset and the one nobody is talking about is Marc Maron. If anyone from the film should have nominated, it's him.

Grade: B+

One of the very best films I saw at SXSW 2022.

I don't usually cry watching films but the characters were so genuine and heartfelt that I did. Another male audience member said the same thing: not someone who cries but this time yes. One thing I really liked was the way in which the writers don't spoon feed you the story; some things are unexplained and you don't always understand exactly why or what is happening just like in real life. Combined with the handheld camera work, there was a gritty fly on the wall perspective. This gave it the feel of a "filmmaker film" rather than a Hollywood focus group formula.

Andrea really showed her acting chops; I had to look her up and see what films I had been missing. But sadly she seems to have mostly been in schlocky formulaic films in the past. Hoping this is the inflection point where she starts getting more roles of the caliber of her acting.