To Leslie is a sad, sweet country song of a movie, with a steel-guitar twang of love and loss. Screenwriter Ryan Binaco was inspired by his own mother for this film, conjuring her memory in the spirit of Barbara Loden’s Wanda (1970) or maybe Scorsese’s Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore (1974). Better Call Saul producer Michael Morris makes his feature directing debut. The film is ultimately just a little contrived and its final scene is not entirely plausible, but the drama is always fiercely watchable due to an undoubtedly marvellous performance from Andrea Riseborough – who last week put this little-seen indie picture back into the conversation and made industry headlines with her sensational outsider breakthrough into the Academy Awards best actress nomination list.
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