‘You’re living, right? I’m sorry it ain’t a fairytale…’
Michael Morris’ terrific film To Leslie seems destined to be remembered for its lead actress and her controversial Best Actress nomination at the 2023 Oscars. Having now watched the film, the only controversy here should be that she didn’t win…
After winning $190,000 in the state lottery, we meet Leslie (Andrea Riseborough) many years later when she has drunk away her money and is estranged from her adult son James (Owen Teague). Leslie bounces around from place to place before forming an uneasy relationship with kindly hotel manager Sweeney (Marc Maron).
We’ve seen tales of drunken debauchery in the southern states of America many times before. And while To Leslie does share some DNA with Crazyheart and Hillbilly Elegy among many others, it is the script and the performances that set this film apart. Riseborough delivers a revelatory performance – one even more affecting than her electric turn in Possessor. The fact that the two roles are so different is a testament to her unique talent. The supporting cast is great also with Maron doing some of his best work in a role reminiscent of his avuncular turn in GLOW. Elsewhere, Allison Janney is quietly formidable as Leslie’s longtime nemesis Nancy and Stephen Root channels his inner asshole as Nancy’s sneering husband Dutch. Teague rounds things off as Leslie’s long-suffering son and together, the cast creates a world that is dysfunctional and often bleak but always authentic and real. Riseborough’s various descents into drunkenness will be familiar to anyone who has spent a lot of time around dive bars and desperate people, and Morris’ use of low lighting and muted colours reflects the solemn torment of the film’s subject.
Riseborough’s performance here is not only fully deserving of an Oscar nom, To Leslie as a whole is unlucky to have missed out in the Best Picture category. A genuinely heartfelt and touching movie. True cinema.