Andrea Riseborough Leads Captivating Post-Lottery Drama To Leslie
When she won $190,000 in a lottery, Leslie (Andrea Riseborough) knew that life as she knew it was about to change forever. And sure enough, it did—just not in the way she was expecting. Michael Morris’ To Leslie picks up seven years after Leslie’s big win. Having blown through all of her winnings, she is gaunt, haggard, alone and in the process of getting booted from her new home: A dingy motel on the side of the West Texas highway. With nowhere else to turn, Leslie goes to stay with her estranged son, 19-year-old James (Owen Teague), who immediately seems uncomfortable by her presence. When mom comes to visit, that means something is really, really wrong.
We first get some insight into what happened to Leslie’s money when James lays down the ground rules for her stay. You can’t stay here forever, he says, and, above all, no drinking. It turns out that that last request is a bit of a tall order for Leslie, who quickly ends up back on the street.
Quickly running out of options, she reluctantly returns to her dreary hometown. There, she embarks on a somber, harrowing odyssey that forces her to contend with the oppressive realities of her alcoholism, guilt and regret. Leslie’s journey is at once unflinchingly intimate, aching and melancholy—qualities accentuated by Larkin Seiple’s sublime cinematography, which resembles a somber travelogue.
When crafting a two-hour, close-up portrait of an addict’s gruesome sufferings, it’s difficult not to be either condescending, cloyingly sentimental or both (see: Hillbilly Elegy). But To Leslie falls victim to no such trap. Indeed, this is not your average tale of lower-class hardship. For the majority of the film, Leslie doesn’t act how we expect her to. She consistently uses her wit and savvy to get off the streets, but refuses to act in a way that keeps her off of them. So what is it, exactly, that Leslie really wants? It’s hard to tell; but whatever it is, she yearns for it with all of her heart.
The refreshing complexities of To Leslie’s protagonist are bolstered by Riseborough’s remarkable performance, one of the best of the year. In each deafening close-up, she conveys a complex sequence of emotions. The camera focuses on her when James gets in a fight in his apartment hallway, Leslie’s face communicating fear, avoidance and guilt all in a matter of seconds. Later, when she asks the handsome stranger at the bar to tell her she’s a good person, it’s shame, frustration and hopefulness.