Review: To Leslie

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Leslie (Andrea Riseborough) is a single mom in West Texas who wins a $190,000 lottery and drinks it all away. After yet another eviction, she blows every single chance given to her by her son and her friends. 

Riseborough's surprise Oscar nomination put this film on everyone's radar. Funny enough, if you're flying Delta any time soon, this is one of the in flight movie options. Do I think her famous friend's last minute social media push to get her the nomination is unworthy? No. I'm still of the opinion it's Michelle Williams that's stealing nominations. I'd actually put Riseborough ahead of both her and Ana de Armes. But I do wish this was a better movie to go along with it.

To Leslie is excruciating. I hate movies where the central character cannot go 15 minutes without fucking up again. Addiction tests even those with the best patience. It's very formulaic and the writing isn't strong enough to rise above it. It didn't help that the first flight of the day I took was shorter than the run time. So I made it about 50 minutes into this movie before having to stop and wait to start again on my connection. Once I sat back down to do that, I didn't even want to finish.

The acting is truly the only thing holding this together. Riseborough is fantastic of course. Marc Maron is the actor with the most screen time after her, and he's a calming presence in Leslie's chaotic life. Alison Janney, Stephen Root, Andre Royo and Owen Teague round out the supporting players, and while all are good they're essentially just ghosts from Leslie's past that appear to be let down again.

And I'm let down too. I was hoping for an indie gem.

Grade: C

Comments

  1. SJHoneywellFebruary 6, 2023 at 11:33 AM

    I have real reservations about this one. I'll get to it eventually, but I can't say I'm excited about it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Brittani BurnhamFebruary 7, 2023 at 8:03 AM

      There is no reason to be excited, it's such a downer.

      Delete
  2. thevoid99February 6, 2023 at 3:23 PM

    I only want to see this because of Andrea Riseborough but we all know she deserves a nod for other films she's been in.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Brittani BurnhamFebruary 7, 2023 at 8:03 AM

      I suspect that will be the only reason anyone watches it. I'll pretend her Oscar nom is for Here Before (which is on Hulu!)

      Delete

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