Once Leslie has exhausted her familial and friend options, she’s back on the street, with only a pink suitcase in tow. However, she’s about to get a chance to turn her life around when motel manager Sweeney (Marc Maron of “GLOW”) can’t help but feel sorry for Leslie in her desperate state. Despite objection by his business partner and motel owner Royal (Andre Royo of “Empire”), who knows Leslie’s reputation all too well, Sweeney offers her a job cleaning up the motel, complete with room and board. Even that isn’t immediately enough to stop Leslie’s drunken foibles.

What follows is a familiar story of redemption and romance that you often find on the film festival circuit, but that doesn’t make it any less praiseworthy. The story doesn’t play out in a cheesy fashion, and Riseborough is so fantastic in her role that I found myself wincing whenever she would even come close to relapsing as she slowly cleans up her act. The moments where Leslie is still off the wagon are hard to watch, with Riseborough drunkenly flirting, slurring, and wobbling around bars pathetically in an effort to have some guy buy her a drink. You can practically smell the booze on her. Thankfully, Maron brings a much-needed warmth and kindness to the proceedings, shedding his typically cynical and sarcastic demeanor to be not just a charming romantic interest but a considerate man whose time with an alcoholic wife and inexperience with Leslie’s past has made him the last hope she has at turning everything around. But even with Sweeney’s help, it’s still up to Leslie to stay dry.

“To Leslie” doesn’t reinvent the wheel when it comes to alcoholic drama, but director Michael Morris, who has worked on shows from “Better Call Saul” to “Smash,” knows how to dig into these characters without relying on overt sentimentality. Alongside the performances, this is largely what makes “To Leslie” work so well in the face of being conventional. Leslie’s journey is rough, even wearying, but it never feels melodramatic. Perhaps that’s because screenwriter Ryan Binaco wrote this script based on his own mother. Unfortunately, it’s a story that many people know all too well, and that makes it hit that much harder.

/Film Rating: 9 out of 10