West Texas Played a Key Role in the Hit Netflix Film "To Leslie"

If you go onto the streaming service Netflix, one of the top movies to watch is "To Leslie", sitting currently at #1 as of June 2023. Directed by Michael Morris, To Leslie stars Andrea Riseborough as Leslie, a West Texas woman who wins the lottery & spends it all in a matter of a short time. The film follows Leslie as she attempts to redeem herself & is based loosely on real events. But the big question I had watching this film is: "Where exactly IN Texas does this movie take place?". After searching online, I believe I found the answer on which city was the inspiration of the movie.

Canva

In case you haven't seen the trailer for To Leslie, here it is

So where in Texas does To Leslie take place?

When thinking of all the cities in "West Texas", there were many to choose from: El Paso, Lubbock, Abilene, Odessa, Midland....& it certainly makes it harder that they basically shot most of the movie in Los Angeles. So while they never out right say it IN the movie, there were definitely hints on WHICH Texas city the movie takes place.

In a 2022 Q&A panel with Andrea Riseborough, Marc Maron & Andre Royo, the actors talk about working in the state of Texas, how massive the state is & how the story seems like it's perfect to be told in such a big state. Marc Maron even confirmed saying that coming up with the accents for the characters, the director Michael Morris suggested usually an accent from Lubbock. Even in the movie itself, the owner of the motel says his daughter lives "an hour away".

via Netflix

Later in the movie, the daughter confirms that they live outside of Abilene,

via Netflix

The movie DOES say which Texas "city" the main character Leslie is from, which Braddock, Texas.

via Netflix

Although the real Braddock, Texas doesn't exist; it's fictionalized. But based on the accounts in the movie, we can at least place the movie to be somewhere in Central Texas area. Until more proof comes out, at least we have a good idea on where this movie is based off of. If you want to know more Netflix shows that take place in Texas, you can read about the latest season of I Am A Killer that shows El Paso.