To Leslie
To Leslie
Starring Andrea Riseborough, Marc Maron, Allison Janney, Owen Teague
Directed by Michael Morris
Starring Andrea Riseborough, Marc Maron, Allison Janney, Owen Teague
Directed by Michael Morris
"To Leslie" was a film I never even heard of until Tuesday, when the Academy Awards were announced and instead of the likes of Danielle Deadwyler or Viola Davis being announced, it was Andrea Riseborough for "To Leslie," and I was extremely surprised. I knew I had to see it to see what all the fuss was about, and something happened while I was watching it that happened to me when I saw "Moonlight." For reference (in case you care to hear), I didn't see "Moonlight" until after it won the Best Film Oscar, and after watching it I was a bit underwhelmed by it - but that's not to say it wasn't an incredible film (it was), but after having such high expectations going into it, it was impossible to achieve it. "To Leslie" had the same effect: while Riseborough was tremendous, I was a left a bit underwhelmed by the product, and I'm still not sure if she really deserved the nomination in my very humble opinion.
Leslie Rowlands (Andrea Riseborough) won the $190,000 lottery, and much like many people who are saddled with that much money at one time, squanders it all on alcohol and drugs. Six years later she's living in a dingy motel, alienated from all her friends and family, and finds herself out on the street. She attempts to make amends with her now-twenty-year-old son James (Owen Teague), but when he finds alcohol bottles under her mattress and finds she's been stealing from him and his roommate, he has no other choice but to kick her out and send her to her former friend Nancy (Allison Janney) and her husband Dutch (Stephen Root). Even then, Leslie can't escape the bottle and they kick her out as well, and she ends up sleeping on the side of a dingy motel. The owner, Sweeney (Marc Maron), kicks her out in the morning, but has a change of heart later and offers her a job and a place to stay. At first Leslie is a terrible employee, always drinking and being late for work, and Sweeney is on the verge of firing her, but he has a past of his own and feels pity for her, sticking by her and helping her come to terms with the personal hell that she created for herself. After years of hard living, Leslie decides to change her life for the better, but the demons of her past won't let her be.
"To Leslie" is one of those typical rock bottom stories where the main character is seen at first as a hopeless cause, someone strictly bound by the demons of addiction who doesn't want to give them up no matter how terrible their life is. This character slowly undergoes a metamorphoses where they finally snap out of the funk they're in and decide to turn things around, and along the way they combat the typical pitfalls that befall them culminating in a sense of self-discovery and self-worth. That's not really a spoiler, as "To Leslie" has that feel from the very start, and what really makes it stand out from others is the sheer "lived in" feeling the film conveys: all the actors, all the performances, and even all the sets have this realistic feel where you get the sense that this is really happening, and you're privy to a woman's transformation firsthand. So why was I underwhelmed? Maybe that's too harsh of a word, because Andrea Riseborough definitely nails her performance, but by mentally comparing her to an Oscar-worthy performance, I just didn't see it. The shortlist for sure, but not alongside the likes of Blanchett, Williams, or Yeoh (I haven't seen "Blonde" yet so I can't get a feel for Armas's nomination, which also came as a shock).
Still, to the merit of the film on its own, it's a tremendously simple film that wiggles its way into your psyche, where, again, it feels like a documentary rather than a staged, scripted work. Leslie is your typical rock-bottom gal, and Riseborough transforms herself into the role heart and soul, and you sense her true dedication to the project. She's a down-and-out alcoholic who won't admit she's that, and spends the beginning part of the film mooching off of everyone she can, including her own son, and you can't tell if the remorse she shows is genuine or just for show. She lives this self-destructive, self-fulfilling prophetic life in a way that has you feeling a sense of sadness but also anger toward the character, who hides behind the crutch of alcoholism being a disease rather than by her own poor life choices (not to say alcoholism isn't a disease, but generally when you have a disease you try to cure it, not make it worse). She's smart enough to know when she's being grifted, and even smarter in grifting others, but when she finally meets someone who shows true genuine empathy for her, she doesn't know how to take it.
That sympathetic ear comes from Marc Maron's Sweeney, a kindly motel owner who offers her a job and a place to stay, and puts up with her nonsense at the start better than any other boss would be. Sweeney is the shining light for Leslie whom she sees at first as an easy mark, but gains respect for him because he has respect for her, and seeing Riseborough and Maron's natural chemistry really adds to the relationship blossoming.
The unsung hero (and honestly the one who should've received a nomination) is Allison Janney's Nancy, a cartoonish-type character who despises Leslie with every ounce of her body and sets out during every public outing to insult, belittle, and demean her former friend. Janney is no stranger to dramatic work, earning an Oscar for playing Tonya Harding's mother in "I, Tonya," but she's also an acclaimed comedic actress as well, and one of the rare actors out there who can seamlessly switch from comedic to dramatic in the blink of an eye. She dominates the screen when she's on, and steals the air out of everyone around her.
Still, the story is about Leslie, and Riseborough really delivers on that end. You witness her character development from user to someone struggling to lift herself by her bootstraps to make something of herself, and its a beautifully tragic wonder to behold. Not only does she deliver her lines with impeccable precision, but she uses her natural form tell the story as well. Specifically one moment she's sitting alone at the bar and a song is playing that seems to mimic everything she's going through, and the camera lingers on her throughout the song in one continuous take where you see how the lyrics are affecting her on the inside, and without uttering a word you sense her breaking, before a lightly comedic moment when she asks, "is this a joke?" It's not, it's a wakeup call for Leslie, and it serves as the stepping point for her to change her life - but like real life, it's never that easy, and the film does a wonderful job at showing the pitfalls and stumbling blocks that happen along the way, anchored by Riseborough's award-nominated performance.
The Score: A+
Leslie Rowlands (Andrea Riseborough) won the $190,000 lottery, and much like many people who are saddled with that much money at one time, squanders it all on alcohol and drugs. Six years later she's living in a dingy motel, alienated from all her friends and family, and finds herself out on the street. She attempts to make amends with her now-twenty-year-old son James (Owen Teague), but when he finds alcohol bottles under her mattress and finds she's been stealing from him and his roommate, he has no other choice but to kick her out and send her to her former friend Nancy (Allison Janney) and her husband Dutch (Stephen Root). Even then, Leslie can't escape the bottle and they kick her out as well, and she ends up sleeping on the side of a dingy motel. The owner, Sweeney (Marc Maron), kicks her out in the morning, but has a change of heart later and offers her a job and a place to stay. At first Leslie is a terrible employee, always drinking and being late for work, and Sweeney is on the verge of firing her, but he has a past of his own and feels pity for her, sticking by her and helping her come to terms with the personal hell that she created for herself. After years of hard living, Leslie decides to change her life for the better, but the demons of her past won't let her be.
"To Leslie" is one of those typical rock bottom stories where the main character is seen at first as a hopeless cause, someone strictly bound by the demons of addiction who doesn't want to give them up no matter how terrible their life is. This character slowly undergoes a metamorphoses where they finally snap out of the funk they're in and decide to turn things around, and along the way they combat the typical pitfalls that befall them culminating in a sense of self-discovery and self-worth. That's not really a spoiler, as "To Leslie" has that feel from the very start, and what really makes it stand out from others is the sheer "lived in" feeling the film conveys: all the actors, all the performances, and even all the sets have this realistic feel where you get the sense that this is really happening, and you're privy to a woman's transformation firsthand. So why was I underwhelmed? Maybe that's too harsh of a word, because Andrea Riseborough definitely nails her performance, but by mentally comparing her to an Oscar-worthy performance, I just didn't see it. The shortlist for sure, but not alongside the likes of Blanchett, Williams, or Yeoh (I haven't seen "Blonde" yet so I can't get a feel for Armas's nomination, which also came as a shock).
Still, to the merit of the film on its own, it's a tremendously simple film that wiggles its way into your psyche, where, again, it feels like a documentary rather than a staged, scripted work. Leslie is your typical rock-bottom gal, and Riseborough transforms herself into the role heart and soul, and you sense her true dedication to the project. She's a down-and-out alcoholic who won't admit she's that, and spends the beginning part of the film mooching off of everyone she can, including her own son, and you can't tell if the remorse she shows is genuine or just for show. She lives this self-destructive, self-fulfilling prophetic life in a way that has you feeling a sense of sadness but also anger toward the character, who hides behind the crutch of alcoholism being a disease rather than by her own poor life choices (not to say alcoholism isn't a disease, but generally when you have a disease you try to cure it, not make it worse). She's smart enough to know when she's being grifted, and even smarter in grifting others, but when she finally meets someone who shows true genuine empathy for her, she doesn't know how to take it.
That sympathetic ear comes from Marc Maron's Sweeney, a kindly motel owner who offers her a job and a place to stay, and puts up with her nonsense at the start better than any other boss would be. Sweeney is the shining light for Leslie whom she sees at first as an easy mark, but gains respect for him because he has respect for her, and seeing Riseborough and Maron's natural chemistry really adds to the relationship blossoming.
The unsung hero (and honestly the one who should've received a nomination) is Allison Janney's Nancy, a cartoonish-type character who despises Leslie with every ounce of her body and sets out during every public outing to insult, belittle, and demean her former friend. Janney is no stranger to dramatic work, earning an Oscar for playing Tonya Harding's mother in "I, Tonya," but she's also an acclaimed comedic actress as well, and one of the rare actors out there who can seamlessly switch from comedic to dramatic in the blink of an eye. She dominates the screen when she's on, and steals the air out of everyone around her.
Still, the story is about Leslie, and Riseborough really delivers on that end. You witness her character development from user to someone struggling to lift herself by her bootstraps to make something of herself, and its a beautifully tragic wonder to behold. Not only does she deliver her lines with impeccable precision, but she uses her natural form tell the story as well. Specifically one moment she's sitting alone at the bar and a song is playing that seems to mimic everything she's going through, and the camera lingers on her throughout the song in one continuous take where you see how the lyrics are affecting her on the inside, and without uttering a word you sense her breaking, before a lightly comedic moment when she asks, "is this a joke?" It's not, it's a wakeup call for Leslie, and it serves as the stepping point for her to change her life - but like real life, it's never that easy, and the film does a wonderful job at showing the pitfalls and stumbling blocks that happen along the way, anchored by Riseborough's award-nominated performance.
The Score: A+
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