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22nd August 2024
04:04pm BST
To Leslie, the beautiful drama film that earned an Oscar nomination last year, is finally available to stream on Netflix.
The U.S. indie movie stars Andrea Riseborough (Possessor) as Leslie, who begins the story a young single mother from West Texas who wins $190,000 in a local lottery.
After this opening scene, the film then jumps forward to six years later when a now alcoholic Leslie is being evicted from an apartment for not paying rent.
Having squandered her Lotto winnings and having fallen out with both her son (an excellent Owen Teague, Bloodline) and her former friends (Alison Janney and Stephen Root) after taking advantage of their hospitality, she resorts to sleeping rough on the grounds of a local motel.
The owner of the motel, Sweeney (Marc Maron, Easy), takes pity on Leslie and offers her a job and room and board - an act of kindness that makes Leslie want to turn her life around and kick her addiction.
Loosely based on real events and inspired by screenwriter Ryan Binaco’s late mother, To Leslie was the feature directorial debut of TV veteran Michael Morris (Better Call Saul).
Made for a reported budget of under $1 million, To Leslie became a major success story - earning a huge amount of acclaim thanks to Riseborough's stunning central performance, her chemistry with Maron, the movie's amazing sense of place, its great country music soundtrack and its gritty but heartfelt tale of addiction and redemption.
The film even earned an unexpected Best Actress nod at the Oscars for Riseborough, something which caused controversy over concerns that To Leslie's awards campaign may have breached an Academy rule - the nomination ultimately stood, however.
We'd argue that the actress more than deserved the nomination for the way she makes the audience care about and root for Leslie, even when her addiction causes her to make mistakes and act selfishly.
Holding a 93% critics score and a 86% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, you can read a sample of some of the glowing reviews for the drama right here:
Chicago Sun-Times: "To be sure, Leslie is her own worst enemy, but she has a disease and there’s still time, maybe just enough time, for her to find the path to recovery. We hold deep hope for that redemption."
The Hollywood Reporter: "To Leslie is a movie about hitting bottom but also a story steeped in grace — and even, within its understated, lived-in aesthetic, tinged with a bit of fairy tale."
RogerEbert.com: "A personal and heartfelt drama with yet another stellar turn from the always-great Andrea Riseborough."
San Jose Mercury News: "A thoughtful indie that doesn't wallow in despair as it gives us a downtrodden character who's used up her second, third and even fourth chances yet still deserves another a shot of redemption."
Sydney Morning Herald: "Riseborough’s performance is spectacular -- a high-wire act, from despair to repair and everywhere in between."
To Leslie is streaming on Netflix in Ireland, the UK and the US.
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