Female Film Critics 24/375
The title woman in director Michael Morris’ To Leslie has one defining characteristic. Leslie is an alcoholic with all the baggage destructive to any healthy relationship; that is, Leslie will beg, borrow, or steal money to support her illness and the dysfunctional behavior resulting from it. Inspired by actual events, the story begins more upbeat, with Leslie winning a $190,000 lottery.
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Andrea Riseborough adds yet another memorable performance to her impressive filmography in director Michael Morris’ wrenching drama To Leslie. She’s heartbreakingly vulnerable as a West Texas woman who gets one last chance to turn her life around after she squanders a $190,00 lottery win and her drinking spirals out of control. At stake is her self-respect, any hope of happiness, and her relationship with her son.
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Andrea Riseborough gives the kind of knock down, drag out performance we’ve come to expect from this uncompromising and empathetic
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If you take Oceans Eleven and add the sensibilities and style of DreamWorks Animation, you’ll get the new animated feature The Bad Guys. It’s a fun conceit, especially when some of the best comedians and actors in the business are supplying voices for the lead characters. While the amusing concept and the embarrassment of thespian riches does add up to entertaining viewing and a worthy way to spend your movie money, the plot might strike some as one-dimensional, and it does feel like there should be more sparks flying given the impressive cast.
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The plot is tricky and convoluted, and big chunks make no sense. “The Bad Guys” is based on the Scholastic series by Aaron Blabey from a screenplay by Etan Cohen, known for Men in Black 3. The script plays off caper movies, but it does not always play well. Directed by Pierre Perifel, known for Kung Fu Panda 2, it’s too long and loud, including the music, and holds little novelty, but it does offer lessons in distinguishing trust from distrust. But, for all its noise, it has its heart in the right place.
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As a platform to display Andrea Riseborough’s acting chops, To Leslie is a key entry in a filmography that is only going from strength to strength. With Riseborough, this film is capital S “Something” alright, focusing as it does with razor sharp precision on questions of shame, class and redemption.
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Opportunity makes strange — but ultimately well-suited — bedfellows in Lynn Shelton’s quirky dramedy Sword of Trust. Centered on an antique weapon that may (or may not) have played an unexpectedly important role in American history, it digs into the denial and hate that are tied into so much of the divisiveness that’s currently plaguing our country. All with an absurdist tone, naturally.
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Lynn Shelton’s Sword of Trust might be a mumblecore boondoggle whose oddly relevant narrative for our divisive times gets unraveled when it devolves into a wacky road trip during its conclusion. But luckily, the filmmaker puts her trust in her actors, especially WTF podcast star and Glow co-star Marc Maron as a sarcastic pawnshop owner in Birmingham, Ala., and gives them enough improv rope to allow them to feel like real people – some of whom we would be glad to know.
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