To Leslie
To Leslie
7.193%86%
A West Texas single mother wins the lottery and squanders it just as fast, leaving behind a world of heartbreak. Years later, with her charm running out and nowhere to go, she fights to rebuild her life and find redemption.
Kevin Ward reviewedJuly 4, 2025
Not sure why I hadn’t even heard of this film up until a few days ago, but I really loved it. Sure you could knock it for not being incredibly original, but I just love a story well told, even if I’ve heard the story a thousand times. Andrea Riseborough is so ridiculously good in this. She’s surrounded by excellent support as well from Allison Janney and Marc Maron in particular. Risenborough’s titular Leslie had won a $190,000 lotto jackpot, but had squandered it all on alcohol and (presumably) drugs among others things with nothing left to show for it other than a severe case of alcoholism. We pick up her story 6 years later where she’s the laughing stock of her small home town and she’s hoping for a chance at reconnecting with her (now) 19 year old (or so). Again, you’ll 100% see where this story is headed and the character pivot happens much more abruptly than typically happens in real life, but the performances here elevate the narrative and they really manage to land those really emotional moving scenes. Highly recommend and feel like this is an extremely under-seen gem from 2022.