Directed by : Michael Morris

You are living, right ? I am sorry it ain't a fairytale. We all should have done things differently. But you are what's wrong with you. Not anyone else.

Andrea Riseborough in a still from 'To Leslie'

Spoilers ahead...


Journey of a West Texas single mother, Leslie (Andrea Riseborough) who wins a $190,000 lottery. Instead of having a secured and stable life for herself and her son, her lifestyle choices makes that money end way too quickly. Years later, she gets thrown out of a roadside motel, staying at her son's James (Owen Teague) place lasts few days only as she can't quit drinking. She is forced to live with hippie relatives, Dutch (Stephen Root) and Nancy (Allison Janney), which expectedly also doesn't last long as Leslie isn't someone who will obey the rules. Having no job, no where to live, Leslie by chance meets a kind man, Sweeney (Marc Maron) who is the owner of a motel along with Royal (Andre Royo). Sweeney offers Leslie a job at his place along with a room to stay at. The only question is, will Leslie change this time or her same routine cycle will continue on ?

We all make mistakes, and we all deserve second chances. Just in case of Leslie, she keeps on denying those chances, the urge to have one bottle of liquor is too much than to be able to enjoy mother-son time with James. 

Leslie is not a likeable character, yet the terrific acting of Andrea Riseborough makes it really tough to not sympathize with her. At times, you feel like telling her 'please no, not this time, give it a try atleast'. That's how it is with broken people, they would appear like mean bad people but its just a very bad phase they are going through. Andrea very well captures the vulnerability of Leslie through many silent shots we see in the entire film. 

There's this excellent scene when Leslie is at bar having a drink while a song starts running 'Are you sure, this is where you want to be?', and she chuckles as if saying 'Really, is this bar going to tell me I am living my life wrong way?', but as the song keeps playing, her thoughts wander around how true those words are. Its probably the first turning point in her life, and other one is when she meets Sweeney.

One question that came to my mind was that, did Sweeney offer help to Leslie just out of kindness, or was it because of the past related to his wife who was also an alcohol addict. Whatever be the reason, Marc Maron plays a very important supporting role, because at a time when everyone considers Leslie a hopeless case, its just him who is willing to give her a chance to change. The fact that he knows nothing about Leslie's past and sees her just as a lady who is coping with this addiction, helps too. 

Scenes between Sweeney and Leslie are great to watch, mostly because for a change Leslie shows honest interest. Love the talks they have about Royal or his running across field habits, or his choice of music they play, and the way their relation develops over time. I felt little angry when Leslie shuts him off and leaves the motel, for a moment I felt the narrative might be leading to a very dark sad ending. 

The ending is heart-warming even if it doesn't fully suggest that Leslie will forever stay clean. I love those 2 last occasions when Leslie has alcohol in front of her, and she overcomes the urge both times. 

Overall, To Leslie is a tough watch, at times irritating too but a strong and if I may say Oscar winning performance by Andrea Riseborough makes this a good watch. Its a pretty interesting character study of an addict that we have seen a lot before. 

My Rating : 6.5/10