To Leslie

Not a bad movie. Well acted. Great storyline.

Fantastic! We all seen movies about addiction, this movie retells it in a new light. Strong performances by Andrea Riseborough (Leslie) and stand up comedian Marc Maron. You can't but help to root for Leslie to pick herself back up and fight for a sober day. Incredible movie!
Do yourself a favor and watch this film.

**A raw and vivid portrayal of the effect of trauma and alcoholism. Great film.**

It was great to watch a film about the effects of trauma without outright showing what happened to the main character. Andrea Riseborough gives a superior performance, at times expressing the undercurrents of her character's past through expression alone. Allison Janney was excellent as her antagonist. Marc Maron was great as Sweeney.

>Sweeney: "You're living, right? I'm sorry it ain't a fairytale. We all should have done things differently. But you're what's wrong with you. Not anyone else."

Spiritual cousin to Red Rocket and addition to the Misunderstood Dirtbag collection.
An unsurprisingly PHENOMENAL performance by Andrea Riseborough with a shockingly good performance by Marc Maron

A layered, multifaceted performance from Riseborough elevates this slice of life, troubled drama; but the somewhat uninspired screenplay truly limits this from being something special. I felt like I'd seen this movie before, in the sense that I've seen many others tackle similar topics in the exact same way. Unlikeable, deep main character faces their demons and rebuilds what they destroyed; with dramatic character collisions along the way. As said by others, I feel like Red Rocket did this kind of storytelling better, even if that were without the character redemption that can be found here. Something about this movie just felt very paint-by-numbers, with every beat telegraphed from the moment the characters and premise are introduced. That's not to say it's a bad movie, I enjoyed my time with it and I do like these linear, slow burn character dramas more than most. I just think if you're here for anything past Riseboroughs performance, you might be vastly disappointed.

[spoiler](Special shout out to the shot towards the end of the movie where Leslie steals Royals hip flask and heads out back. The complete darkness around the diner, with only Leslie lit staring down at her vice was a perfect way of encapsulating that feeling when facing down an addiction. You can almost hear her inner monologue just telling her to give up and take a sip without a single word spoken. That along with her diner outfit being the same colour as her iconic pink suitcase to symbolise this being her new home, her new nesting place was very subtle and I'm a sucker for that stuff 😅) [/spoiler]

Riseborough was rightfully nominated for an Oscar for her performance in this film. Special mention must also go to Marc Maron and Owen Teague who also turn in brilliant performances. The film doesn't grab the heart as much as it should but it's still a worthy watch.

True that it was the same lead on the American misery, but was realized quite well, with a good acting and a convincing plot.

A depressing story with a sweet ending. Honestly, the ending seems unlikely, but keeps us hopeful that the extremely broken people in this world have a chance. The main actress plays her role incredibly well.

There are arguably so many conventional elements in this film that if it weren't for Andrea Riseborough's absorbing and almost effortless performance, it wouldn't be far off from an after-lunch TV drama. It is a story as solid as it is hardly relevant, which is sustained by a character as unreliable as she is tragically weak. And that it aspires to go towards a kind of redemption that builds a Disney movie ending, a development as scarcely brave as the rest of the film. An irrelevant story elevated by an influencer marketing campaign that ended with an Oscar nomination.

"To Leslie" is the kind of addiction drama you've probably seen dozens of times before. There's really nothing special about it. The film is also emotionally manipulative and predictable throughout. Andrea Riseborough is quite good in the lead role as a washed-up alcoholic. However, I'm perplexed by the amount of praise she's received for her performance. The role is pretty thankful, because the main requirement is to play extremely gesticulating and intense. In addition, she can scream around a lot and go off in a drunken stupor. Subtlety is hardly required, which is certainly also due to the not very creative script. Still, Riseborough is good. But I wouldn't say she's much better than, say, Mila Kunis in "Four Good Days" a few years ago or many others in similar roles. I can't exactly give this film a glowing recommendation. You can definitely watch it for Riseborough's performance, but you shouldn't expect too much.