• Indie Short Mag TV
Indie Shorts Mag
  • Home
  • Interviews
  • News
    • Film Festival News
    • Short Film News
  • Reviews
    • Short Film
    • Documentary
    • Web Series
  • Hall of Fame
  • Short Film Festival – 2025Accepting Films
  • Tutorials
    • Pre-Production
    • Post-Production
  • Submit Short Film
    • Submit Short Film for Review
    • Submit Web Series for Review
    • Interview Submission Form
No Result
View All Result
Indie Shorts Mag
  • Home
  • Interviews
  • News
    • Film Festival News
    • Short Film News
  • Reviews
    • Short Film
    • Documentary
    • Web Series
  • Hall of Fame
  • Short Film Festival – 2025Accepting Films
  • Tutorials
    • Pre-Production
    • Post-Production
  • Submit Short Film
    • Submit Short Film for Review
    • Submit Web Series for Review
    • Interview Submission Form
No Result
View All Result
Indie Shorts Mag
No Result
View All Result

Leslie’s Gift: Finding Salvation Within

Sristi Gayen by Sristi Gayen
26 Jan 2022
in Reviews
0
Leslie's Gift - Short Film Review - Indie Shorts Mag

It is easy to fall into the trappings of nostalgia. That much we know and rarely heed. On screen too, nostalgic recountings of bygone days are an easy way to develop characters and plot. Sometimes too easy, and really just an easy way out. Charles Cunliffe’s Leslie’s Gift spends practically its entire runtime dwelling on its characters’ past, but without developing any appreciable depth.

Tommy, played by Dean Wellman, comes to visit his parents’ grave, together in death, even while they parted ways during their life. His sister, Leslie (Gladys Ressler), is already there. Seated on a bench in front of the graves, she waits serenely for her brother and they commence sharing their memories of their childhood and news of their current life. Tommy is visibly weighed down by a sense of guilt and sorrow. As he opens up to Leslie, she eases his conscience; by the time the film closes, Tommy is still grieving, but just ever so slightly, at peace.

Leslie's Gift - Short Film Review - Indie Shorts Mag

Leslie’s Gift never attains the emotional impact it set its sights on because the script does not develop the necessary emotional depth required to make things matter. Most of the conversation between the protagonist and his sister focuses on this-and-that topics, regular conversations. It barely develops its characters. Films such as this rely heavily on its actors to hold them up, and both Ressler and Wellman deliver well, especially the very graceful Ressler. 

Music is a prominent device used to add substance to the film, but this again lacks depth or significance. Cinematography varies in quality. There will be occasions when shots really speak to the viewer, while others have hints of unintuitive broad strokes. 

Leslie's Gift - Short Film Review - Indie Shorts Mag

Leslie’s Gift focused far too much on its little twist to create a better, more complex plot. With a ploy that feels like only a loose framework, it ends up far too flat and almost predictable to be worth coming back to. 

Watch Leslie’s Gift Short Film

Leslie's Gift: Finding Salvation Within
  • Direction
  • Cinematography
  • Screenplay
  • Editing
  • Music
3.4
Tags: DramaDrama Short Film ReviewReviewShort Film Reviews
Previous Post

Dominant Chord: Contending With The Age-Old Battles Of Success vs Freedom

Next Post

First Mistake: Chemistry So Good, You Don’t Need Conversation To Fall In Love

Sristi Gayen

Sristi Gayen

Related Posts

Viaticum - Short Film Review - Indie Shorts Mag
Reviews

Viaticum: A Comedy on the Things We Take (Down) With Us on the Way Out

5th October 2024
A Good Day Will Come - Short Film Review - Indie Shorts Mag
Reviews

A Good Day Will Come: Relentless Optimism in the Face of the Tyrannical State

2nd October 2024
Next Post
First Mistake - Short Film Review - Indie Shorts Mag

First Mistake: Chemistry So Good, You Don't Need Conversation To Fall In Love

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *


Sponsored

Featured Post

Announcing Short Of The Year Awards 2023

Announcing Short Of The Year Awards 2023

Latest Podcast

  • Recent Reviews

About Indie Shorts Mag

Indie Shorts Mag is a publishing agency that works within the ‘short film circuit’. We review short films, documentaries, music videos and web series, amongst others. We stand out amongst the short film review sites for being multi-diverse & global in our platform and reach.
Our team works tirelessly to help promote, publicize and market your short films that deserve the shout-out! Besides reviews, we host film festival news as it’s a known fact that the film festival buzz is unmissable and we ensure you aren’t left behind!
We aspire to form a niche for ourselves as the ‘short film magazine’ that remains the hub for filmmakers & their audience.

Popular Topics

  • Announcements
  • Articles
  • Crowdfunding
  • Editorial
  • Film Festival News
  • Film Festivals
  • India Edition
  • Interviews
  • Marketing
  • Marketing
  • News
  • Online Premiere
  • Post-Production
  • Pre-Production
  • Reviews
  • Short Film
  • Short Film Competition
  • Short Film News
  • Tutorials
  • Web Series

Indie Shorts Mag on Instagram

Follow Us On Instagram

  • #ShortFilmReview: Viaticum: God probably understands, he’s an understanding sort.

Read our review. Link in bio.

#ShortFilm #Review #IndieFilmReview #FilmReview #SupportIndieFilm
  • #ShortFilmReview: A Good Day Will Come: Horrors are nurtured with silence.

Read our review. Link in bio.

#ShortFilm #Review #IndieFilmReview #FilmReview #SupportIndieFilm
  • #ShortFilmTrailer: Our Home Here: Paying The Cost Of Having A Dream. 

Read our review & watch the short, link in bio. 

#ShortFilm #ShortFilmReview #SupportindieFilm #Trailer #FilmTrailer  #shortfilms
  • #ShortFilmReview: Enough for you: Love and fear amidst the march of time.

Read our review. Link in bio.

#ShortFilm #Review #IndieFilmReview #FilmReview #SupportIndieFilm
  • #ShortFilmTrailer: Reparations: On Empathy And The Legitimacy Of Being. 

Read our review & watch the short, link in bio.

#ShortFilm #ShortFilmReview #SupportindieFilm #Trailer #FilmTrailer #ShortFilms
  • #ShortFilmTrailer: How I’ve Met God: A Coming Into Form. 

Read our review & watch the short, link in bio. 

#ShortFilm #ShortFilmReview #SupportindieFilm #Trailer #FilmTrailer #ShortFilms
  • #ShortFilmReview: Lemon: Nobody is getting away.

Read our review. Link in bio.

#ShortFilm #Review #IndieFilmReview #FilmReview #SupportIndieFilm
  • #ShortFilmReview: Kotsuage: Grains of rice and drops of blood change little children forever.

Read our review. Link in bio.

#ShortFilm #Review #IndieFilmReview #FilmReview #SupportIndieFilm
  • #ShortFilmTrailer: Grace: Examining A Loss Of Faith. 

Read our review & watch the short, link in bio.

#ShortFilm #ShortFilmReview #SupportindieFilm #Trailer #FilmTrailer #ShortFilms
  • Home
  • About Us
  • Advertise With Us
  • Contact Us
  • Submit Article
  • Write for Us
  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy

© 2015-2024 Indie Shorts Mag.

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Interviews
  • News
    • Film Festival News
    • Short Film News
  • Reviews
    • Short Film
    • Documentary
    • Web Series
  • Hall of Fame
  • Short Film Festival – 2025
  • Tutorials
    • Pre-Production
    • Post-Production
  • Submit Short Film
    • Submit Short Film for Review
    • Submit Web Series for Review
    • Interview Submission Form

© 2015-2024 Indie Shorts Mag.