This award winning Independent Film tells the story of a West Texas native trailer trash single mom, Leslie [Riseborough], who wins the lottery, not a million dollars or anything, but enough to get her out of the small Texas town she's lived in her entire life. She bails on her son, her family, and winds up squandering all of her winnings on alcohol and drugs, eventually leaving her broke down and penniless. She struggles to house and feed herself. After realizing she's used up all of her favors, she seeks help from her son [Teague], she falls for alcohol, and winds up returning home trying to restart her life, but her mother [Janney] has given up on her. With the help of a motel manager [Maron], she gets a job, cleans herself up and is granted a second chance at a happy and normal life.
THE GOOD - There are some strong performances in this film from Teague and Janney. The transformation of Riseborough is a little harsh to watch as I have seen her in other movies looking pretty sultry, but in this film there's a little bit too much of her losing weight and presenting a beaten down woman on the last string of her coherent mental existence.
THE BAD - This film has no pacing. It's progression in storytelling is very slow, over developing characters and bringing nothing to the film to feel good about. There's absolutely no hope in the leading character and everyone is against her and not wanting to help her out at all. The Hotel Manager, played by Maron, just seems like he's that one actor who took the role because the Casting Manager couldn't find anyone else to fill the spot.
POST MORTEM - This movie has an aimless story. The plot of the film isn't revealed to the very end and I was surprised that a plot existed in this mess of complete hopelessness. Watch at your own risk and I dare anyone to watch it without looking at their cellphones to try and find some excitement while the movie plays on in the background. Yes, it's that bad...but there is a nice message at the end of the film.
⭐️⭐️💫[2.5 of 5 Stars]
