In gritty element, “To Leslie” traces the autumn of a one-time lottery winner who, years later, has misplaced the whole lot she holds expensive. The British actress Andrea Riseborough (“Nancy”) provides a deft efficiency as Leslie, an alcoholic mom in West Texas barreling towards all-time low on this deceptively easy but heart-wrenching character examine.
Allison Janney, Marc Maron, Owen Teague and Andre Royo fill out the strong ensemble solid on this small-budget indie, which accomplishes what its bigger-budget peer “Hillbilly Elegy” wished to, however couldn’t pull off: a posh portrait of the methods during which trauma and habit hang-out a working-class white household within the South.
The director, Michael Morris, is aware of from the beginning what film he’s making: one which robs us of our straightforward assumptions about who Leslie is. She’s unbearably flawed, and the screenwriter Ryan Binaco explains why with out forcing lengthy beats of exposition upon the viewer. And he does so whereas nonetheless leaving room for shock. Leslie doesn’t tank her sobriety once we suppose she’s going to, but her restoration is freed from narrative subterfuge.
The cinematography by Larkin Seiple (“Every thing All over the place All At As soon as”) is an actual feat of visible character improvement: The digital camera motion is each protecting of Leslie and unflinching in its uncooked portrayal of her vulnerability. A few of the most affecting pictures happen on the bar, like one close-up the place Leslie spars with the man who desires to mattress her — “Inform me I’m good.” It’s shot with a depth of area that retains Leslie’s face in focus, whereas the remainder of the body is blurred.
“To Leslie” in all probability might have left 15 extra minutes on the reducing room ground. However its intermittent lags don’t diminish the general satisfaction one feels within the movie’s closing act, when Leslie’s rocky street settles into one thing believably triumphant.
To Leslie
Rated R for express language and violence. Working time: 1 hour 59 minutes. Hire or purchase on Apple TV, Google Play and different streaming platforms and pay TV operators.