To Leslie

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))

One of the very best films I saw at SXSW 2022.

I don't usually cry watching films but the characters were so genuine and heartfelt that I did. Another male audience member said the same thing: not someone who cries but this time yes. One thing I really liked was the way in which the writers don't spoon feed you the story; some things are unexplained and you don't always understand exactly why or what is happening just like in real life. Combined with the handheld camera work, there was a gritty fly on the wall perspective. This gave it the feel of a "filmmaker film" rather than a Hollywood focus group formula.

Andrea really showed her acting chops; I had to look her up and see what films I had been missing. But sadly she seems to have mostly been in schlocky formulaic films in the past. Hoping this is the inflection point where she starts getting more roles of the caliber of her acting.

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.

The character was so repulsive that at first I didn't think I could ever find one redeeming quality in her. She was odious. So since I didn't yet know anybody else's character, and since the whole thing was getting to be a real bummer, you know, like real life can be, I thought about dumping the whole show. But out of curiosity, I decided to hang on a bit longer.

It paid off big time. This is a great movie. It is not preachy, not judgmental, you have no idea how it will end, and it does a satisfying job. The acting is great, the script is fantastic, and the story has total credibility. I'm glad I stayed with it.