The official trailer for Momentum Pictures’ forthcoming movie To Leslie, starring Andrea Riseborough and Academy Award winner Allison Janney, has just been published. The film takes a bleak look at a young woman’s life after she has wasted her lottery money and created enemies out of friends; it is set in a tiny town in West Texas and is based on real events. The trailer traces the ups and downs of the single mother over the course of less than a decade, as well as her attempts at redemption. Riseborough’s icy portrayal of Leslie earned the picture acclaim at the 2022 SXSW Film Festival, where it had its world debut.
Writing as a tribute to his own mother, Ryan Bianco’s script follows a single mother named Leslie in West Texas as she unexpectedly wins $190,000 and the chance to start a new life for her son, James. A short time later, Leslie is completely on her own and at rock bottom after she has squandered all of her lottery money. After being abandoned by her loved ones, Leslie reluctantly returns home, only to be met with a chilly reception.
She gets the help she needs to deal with the fallout and make up for her mistakes in the unlikeliest of places. Morris’s ability to convey the claustrophobia of a tiny town while maintaining the same small-town closeness that draws its citizens is on full display in the trailer. Leslie swings from ecstatic victory to utter isolation in the blink of an eye when she starts taking advantage of the people closest to her. The trailer reveals that Leslie spent all of her money on alcohol, was shunned and eventually returned to the community because she had nowhere else to go.
Riseborough gives a riveting performance as a lady fighting her addictions, and her desire to be a better mother is palpable throughout. Janney’s explosive depiction of Leslie’s abandoned friend Nancy and her husband Dutch (Stephen Root), who witnessed her swift descent, stands out among the ensemble cast in the teaser due to the anguish and unwillingness to forgive they express. Sweeney, the hotel manager (Marc Maron), provides a softer perspective that may help steer Leslie away from her harsh ways. With upcoming projects like Matilda the Musical, streaming on Netflix, and more, Riseborough is quickly becoming a household name.
She first came to prominence in the horror science fiction film Possessor, directed by Brandon Cronenberg, and then again in the role alongside Nicolas Cage in the neon-soaked nightmare Mandy. Janney, Maron, and Root give gripping performances, and so do Owen Teague as Leslie’s son James, Andre Royo, James Landry Hebert, Matt Lauria, and Catfish Jean. They all help reveal the depths of addiction and the severity of its effects for everyone involved. On October 7, you’ll be able to see To Leslie in cinemas and stream it instantly via On Demand.