To Leslie
To Leslie [2022]
Starring: Andrea Riseborough, Marc Maron, Owen Teague, Allison Janney
Screenplay by Ryan Binaco, Direction by Michael Morris
Language: English
The second I heard a Dolly Parton song in the opening credits scene, I knew that this was going to be my type of movie. Whether Andrea Riseborough’s nomination was lobbied for or not, I’m glad that the Oscars have recognised this small movie, and have allowed it to be watched and appreciated by new eyes - I would never have known about it otherwise.
After watching this movie I have two questions.
Why isn’t ‘To Leslie’ more popular?
Who is Andrea Riseborough and why hasn’t anybody been taking notice of her work until recently?
I have seen movies that centre around addiction, and how it affects those afflicted. But a lot of those movies were extremely expositional, almost surrealistic in their contents, to the point where viewers are so disillusioned that the movie will lose all meaning. This was a much needed reality check, a dose of hard realism that really puts the problems of addiction and its fallout into perspective. I was glad to realise that it wasn’t one of those slow, really boring films where the plot barely moves forward, like many other movies of this calibre.
Addiction is one of those things that’s talked about, one of those things that everybody knows about. But seeing this addiction manifested in this piece of work, especially in a lower-income setting, was particularly eye-opening. This was especially true for me: these struggles are not visible to me, because I live in a place which has strict regulation when it comes to substance abuse.
All that I can say is that I was utterly surprised by how well this movie was cast. The supporting roles were quite strong, considering that there were some debut performances. The fact that such a low budget movie was able to achieve this was nothing short of amazing. Whether it was Allison Janney’s performance of a stoic, no-nonsense ‘biker chick’ or Owen Teague’s performance of a struggling young person who struggles to find normalcy in his relationship with his mother.
This movie epitomises everything I like about film: it didn’t have to rely on a big budget, nor a super experienced/ well-known cast to get exalted to the position it is at today. It focused on an issue and portrayed it in a different way! Sometimes, getting back to the basics really does work best.
The movie may not have been the best in a technical sense: things like editing were relatively subpar, but, to be honest, those things don’t really make a huge difference to me.
Andrea Riseborough. She is my new idol. The battle with addiction is a difficult thing to watch, let alone act! Seeing how this addiction managed to completely overpower Riseborough’s character’s mental state was a very powerful, skilled performance. I was touched. Plain and simple.
Were there other actresses that could have also been nominated for Best Actress? Yes. Was Andrea Riseborough’s nomination controversial? Yes. Was Riseborough’s nomination deserved? Absolutely yes.
10/10
