To Leslie

A young mother wins and then squanders a lottery win, losing herself to alcoholism and her family to the aftermath. The film charts her journey to redemption.

I think it's rare to see performances like this one. Yes there's oscar winners every year, but they tend to be for formulaic roles and popular roles, rather than for technical merit as an actor.

In To Leslie Riseborough reminds us what acting really is. You don't see an actor playing the role of a recovering alcoholic, you see a recovering alcoholic. She breathes life into the role and every nuanced move, glance, pursing of lips, scrunching of eyes, movement of body is the epitome of a woman in torment. Her delivery is perfect.

I was shocked to see her so thin which lent authenticity to the role, but she had me right from the opening scene right the way through to the very last scene where she held nothing back. She gave everything to her part.

It reminded me of Jessica Chastain in The Eyes of Tammy Faye. Total immersion into the role where the pretended morphed into the real and you forgot it was acting.

To Leslie was flawlessly directed and Riseborough benefited from a strong cast. Janney was her usual excellent self, but there was not one weak character in the film.

Absolutely spellbinding and I give this a very rare 8.

A rollercoaster of emotions with a tremendous performance by Andrea Riseborough. It really is one of the best performances of the year and will most liklely (but hopefully not) end up as one of the most underrated performances. I really liked the energy Riseborough pushed into her character. At first you would think she straight out overacts but this was just one facette of this very complicated but extremly natural character. She really was great and showed off all her acting strengths.

The rest of the cast was good too. We have Allison Janney in a smaller role who is okay but has one fantastic scene towards the ending.

I really loved Marc Maron. Not only becuase he had such a warm and sympahtic character, but also becuase he pulled it off so well and put so much heart into it. A great performance that deserves a shoutout.

Other than that there was not a single bad performance. Its a very good character study and thanks to a great direction really pulls all the strings that are needed. Surprisingly atmospheric too in a way, at least it felt like you can touch and feel that area it takes place and its characters.

I found this film evocative and provocative. It was a deep dive into the pain and wreckage that is left in the wake of addiction. Andrea Riseborough transforms herself into a down and out alcoholic who is on a day to day survival program. Her non-verbal acting is over the top good.

Mark Moran appears as an unlikely hero who demonstrates what the power of believing in someone can do.

Andre Royo (loved him in the Wire) plays a lovable sidekick with no shortage of street wisdom.

I highly recommended this movie to anyone who is interested in a human drama about a human being searching for redemption.

There's nothing wrong with treading the same ground and exploring the same themes as other movies. To Leslie was an entertaining rendition of the "down and out, get back on your feet" trope. It was a good first movie for Michael Morris, who still needs to shake off some of that TV sentimentality. The movie exists in a world that's real enough to keep you engaged, but not so visceral that it turns you off. It meanders it's way from uncomfortable and tense to the territory of a 90's feel-good movie.

The film is essentially a vehicle for Andrea Riseborough who is always good, but I think she overdoes it a bit. For the most part she was excellent throughout this movie, but when the character ramps it up to 10 she tends to hit 11. There were times I had to remind myself that she's British because she assumed the identity of a Texan so well. Honorable mention to Marc Maron who impressed me. For the most part his role was nothing to write about, but I only ever knew him as a comedian and I was surprised to see him holding his own extended dialogues with an actress like Andrea Riseborough.

Everyone loves a winner, which is why so many movies showcase success. If you are going to showcase failure, you'd better know what you are doing. And the team behind TO LESLIE -- director Michael Morris and writer Ryan Binaco -- know exactly what they are doing. The script in particular is so precise you could study it in film class. Literally 60 seconds after you encounter the central character (Leslie) winning a lottery, you re-engage with her years later -- drunk and mean and homeless. The viewer is hooked. The dialog throughout is fat-free, and the direction never once relies on cheap tricks (like loud background music) to make a point. The unspoken truth with these sorts of stories is that Leslie could be you, or someone you know. We all make mistakes. And we all try to fix them. Sometimes we succeed. Sometimes we don't. Andrea Riseborough as Leslie gives an awesome performance; and Stephen Root, way outside of his usual comfort zone, is a standout. Marc Maron is in a class by himself -- he could give acting clinics on "empathy." Easily one of the most engaging films of the year. ((Designated "IMDb Top Reviewer." Please check out my list "167+ Nearly-Perfect Movies (with the occasional Anime or TV miniseries) you can/should see again and again (1932 to the present))