To Leslie | Film Review

I didn't know much about this movie, but when it came out on the Sky Premiere channel, after hearing a bit about how good it was, I decided to see what it was all about.

After winning the lottery, Leslie (Andrea Riseborough) feels like her life has turned a corner. But a few years later when the money is gone, Leslie tries to put her life back together.

I have mixed feelings on this film. While I understand all of the praise for Andrea Riseborough's performance, I'm not sure I understand the praise for the film itself.

I'm going to be completely honest, I was bored for at least the first third of the movie. I couldn't get into the story, and I didn't connect with the character of Leslie. Not because she was unlikable, but because I never really cared about her.

For me, the relationships (positive and negative) between the characters meant a lot more to me than the story itself. I wasn't that interested in how she lost the money or the fact that she lived on the street, but I was very interested in why she left her son, or why her relationship with her mother had changed.

I've already mentioned the praise around Riseborough's performance, but I wanted to reiterate again that she was the best thing about the film and definitely deserved all the praise she got. She did an amazing job with the role and made the character of Leslie feel three-dimensional.

My favourite part of the film was the last scene. It made watching the rest of the film feel worth it, and in that moment, I finally got who Leslie was and why her story was told.

The rest of the film was a bit hit-and-miss. I didn't particularly like it or feel entertained by it, and it's not something that I'd really want to see again. But by the end, and looking back on it, I do see why others would enjoy it.

Overall, I didn't love the film, but I liked it more as it went on and definitely understand why others like it, particularly because of Riseborough's performance.

5/10