I was as surprised as anyone when I heard the Oscar nominations, and an actress that I’d never heard of (Andrea Riseborough) was nominated for a movie I had never heard of – To Leslie. The film had only made $27,000 at the box office. Since the Angelika Film Center, my favorite theatre in town, was showing it, I headed over with my wife. And boy am I glad I did.
After watching it, I think Riseborough was worthy of that nomination. It’s bizarre that everyone is so upset that other Hollywood stars campaigned for her, as all the studios do their version of campaigns and ads in the magazines. I was more upset that nobody also talked about supporting nominations for Marc Maron (also a great comedian and podcaster) and Allison Janney. Because this movie is about an alcoholic, I thought about a conversation I had with Janney when I interviewed her. I told her she deserved an Oscar nomination for her role as the silly neighbor in The Way Way Back who always had a drink in her hand and was always a bit tipsy. She thanked me and said I gave her goosebumps. That and having Gary Oldman point and wink at me as I held up a cigar as he walked by me after he won a Critics Choice award for his portrayal of Winston Churchill – are two of my more fond moments with actors.
Janney plays against type here, as a motorcycle mama (a term we used for biker chicks in the ‘70s). She isn’t going to tolerate Leslie’s BS, despite her husband Dutch (the always chameleon-like actor Stephen Root) giving her another chance.
Okay, okay. The movie isn’t about Nancy (Janney), but the side characters in this movie were all so interesting, I just wanted to acknowledge them right off the bat. That would also include Owen Teague playing her frustrated son (I first saw him in Montana Story, in which he was great; the movie not so much).
One other mention of the supporting cast wouldn’t be complete without Andre Royo (The Wire), who plays Royal. He owns a run-down motel and is also frustrated with Leslie.
The story is about a single woman in West Texas who wins $190,000 in the lottery and promptly blows it on booze. My wife and I both wondered why the story didn’t have her winning a million bucks, but perhaps 100K (after taxes) in her town is like a million dollars in California. It would have been enough to put a downpayment on a house and a nice nest egg for her and her young son. He gets a guitar out of it and a mom who becomes a hardcore alcoholic.
I wasn’t expecting to enjoy the movie as much as I did, as we’ve all seen films before about alcoholics or drug addicts that hit rock bottom and shoot for redemption. I wasn’t sure this could add anything to that. And while it did follow a lot of the same beats we’ve seen before, my wife and I both really enjoyed this dark story with a very unlikable character. In fact, halfway through the movie (in a scene in which she has a black eye, and we’re never shown how it occurred), I thought I was going to spend the rest of the movie rooting for her to get another black eye. She’s just so obnoxious. It’s amazing to think that this is Ryan Binaco’s second screenplay (based on his mom), and Better Call Saul director Michael Morris’ first film.
The first part of the story shows Leslie’s son James taking her in, and soon kicking her out.
The second section has her brother and his wife (Janney), taking her in and kicking her out. The longest section of the film has her in a new job cleaning hotels, and a possible love interest (Marc Maron). We wonder why he’s putting up with her nonsense. Yet, we start to root for Leslie just because we like his character so much, and don’t want to see him hurt, for trying to help someone he knows has issues. The way their friendship develops feels like nothing I’ve ever seen with this type of film. There were a number of scenes that were refreshingly original and downplayed with subtle touches that worked wonderfully. For example, not seeing how she got a black eye, or a time someone kicks her out. It wasn’t with a big blow up fight where things are thrown against the wall and two people curse at each other, but…merely her pink suitcase was left outside the locked front door when she returns from a late night drinking binge. Another time, it was the two lead actors eating TV dinners, and instead of some profound dialogue, just two regular people trying uncomfortably to make small talk.
There are enough humorous scenes in this, too. At one point, at closing time at the bar, we hear Willie Nelson sing from the jukebox “Are you sure this is where you want to be?”
We hear Leslie respond back, “Yep.”
For a music lover, the soundtrack was perfect: two Nelson songs, Waylon Jennings' great “I’m a Ramblin’ Man,” The Highwaymen, Dolly Parton, Charlotte Hunter, and lots of Linda Perry (4 Non Blondes) who also does the score (which at one point sounds like the end of Me and Earl and the Dying Girl). My favorite song of this great bunch of tunes was blues guitarist Freddie King’s cover of “Going Down” (which came out the year before Jeff Beck did his version, RIP, Mr. Beck).
If you don’t get a chance to catch this movie at the Angelika, you can see it on Amazon Prime, Apple TV, and probably a few other ways. Remember, it gets a bit dark, but it’s worth the ride.
3 ½ stars out of 5.