Michael Morris’ “To Leslie”

To Leslie (2022)

With a centrepiece performance by Andrea Riseborough which has garnered attention from Cate Blanchett, Kate Winslet and others, “To Leslie” charts the fragile path of addiction and the importance of empathy and forgiveness in a nuanced and frank narrative

Without doubt, Andrea Riseborough’s performance in this film has earned the attention its received from the likes of Cate Blanchett, Kate Winslet, Helen Hunt, Edward Norton and other fellow actors. Raising the films by a couple of magnitudes, it helps smooth over some of the weak points in the script from Ryan Binaco. Kudos also needs to go to Michael Morris who not only gets a great performance from Riseborough but also the supporting cast which includes Marc Maron, Allison Janney, Andre Royo, Owen Teague, and Stephen Root.

Telling the story of Leslie, a young mother from West Texas who wins a local lottery ($190,000), this follows on several years after her stroke of good luck by which point the money is all gone. Estranged from her son and family, Leslie is in something of a nether world of misery and drink with an uncertain future.

On the whole, it’s quite a gritty and convincing look at addiction and self-destruction in the face of guilt and depression and though this does sometimes stray into melodrama, it’s forgiveable because of the sheer force of Riseborough. The film is very much a tale of two halves which positions the audience in two different perspectives which when compared reveals how we can instinctively respond in the worst way when confronted with those under the influence of addiction.

A good film with a magnificent performance and an important message on empathy and forgiveness.