To Lisa: Retreading redemption is really rewarding

With the Oscars hitting in the next 24 hours, I have to give up my goal of being a completionist on all nominees this year. Yes, that is a ridiculous goal. This year is the best I've done, seeing 31 of 39 feature length films and more than half of the shorts. But I half-heartedly give it a go each year, mostly knowing it pushes me to see new films and explore those I might not have otherwise.

Case in point: To Leslie. This tiny-budget film made Oscars news this year by garnering a Best Actress nomination for Andrea Riseborough. The question: How did this tiny film that no one saw gain a best actress nom? The answer: A lot of her Hollywood friends promoting her and toeing the line of Academy rules for campaigning.

But controversial nomination or not, it was nominated, and with the time I had left this was the one film left for me to see to complete the acting categories so I rented it on Apple and sat down to give it a go.

What I got was not quite what I expected. Yes, it is about an alcoholic mother who has disappointed the people around her time and time again and is left with little recourse. Give her an inch and she takes a mile, taking advantage of her estranged son's hospitality by stealing money, hiding booze, and partying with his next door neighbors. So she returns to her little Southern town in shame and winds up sleeping behind the wall of a rundown motel, leaving behind her pink suitcase with everything she owns in the world. This is rock bottom. We've seen this before, right? This is not new amongst Oscars fare.

Can you guess what happens next? Marc Maron plays a simple guy co-managing the motel with his own past struggles. But he has a routine that works for him. Why does he give this woman a job which she didn't ask for and is unqualified to handle? How is he patient enough to deal with the crap she gives him? Is she really going to throw away another opportunity, when she has nowhere else to turn?

This is a redemption story. But the thing is, I'm always a sucker for an honestly told story of someone facing their demons, bravely confronting humiliation, and deciding to make a change. That's one of the great stories that film can tell again and again and, if it's done right, I will go for every time.

There is a key emotional moment in To Leslie. She's been blown around by life and her own poor decisions and ends up at a bar one more time with a drink in front of her. The bartender makes his last call and puts a Willie Nelson song on the jukebox. The camera starts a long, slow shot from the end of the bar, zooming in gradually to Leslie's deadened expression as she hears the crooning start: "Look around you...look down the bar from you...are you sure that this is where you want to be?" Willie is killing her softly with his song, telling her whole life with his words, and you can feel something move within her as she finally looks at herself and receives the message.

I won't walk you through any more details on the film. It's not surprising or innovative. But it's well told. And while I couldn't imagine being able to rank all the female performances of the year - and this certainly can't beat out Cate Blanchett as Lydia Tár - she puts her whole heart and soul on the line. And I can say this is why I watch the nominations and give myself the opportunity to find something unexpected.