"Leads:" Tribeca's Film for the People Pleasers of the World

Every year, thousands upon thousands of films are submitted for the chance of hopefully screening at the Tribeca Film Festival. Out of those countless submissions, only twelve films are selected to be part of the festival's US Narrative Feature Competition. This year, one of those astronomically lucky films was Leads by Bryan Poyser. A spirited film that speak to your soul and force you to reflect on all you hold dear.

Leads follows the story of Mags, a once promising actress who currently finds herself teaching theater at a small college, putting her dreams on the back burner in favor of stability. Her life is shaken up when her unpredictable brother, Merritt appears on her doorstep one day and somehow wriggles his way into taking her acting class.

The siblings are expertly played by Heather Kafka and Justin Arnold respectively in easily their most promising roles yet. Their on-screen dynamic is so natural and believable it's honestly kind of surprising that they're not real brother and sister. Mags' terminally serious, professional nature is balanced out by Merritt's laissez-faire attitude and need to always be the loudest voice in the room.

Leads is an actor's movie. The script really allowed Heather Kafka to explore Mags as a character and what makes her tick. She feels deeply scorned by the director of her first and only feature film, who left her in the dust and never offered her further roles, despite the rapturous praise she received and her clear promise as an actor. You can feel that resentment and pain in every scene, no matter how good she seems at hiding it. Kafka's performance is hands down Leads' pièce de résistance. In addition, audiences will also feel drawn to Arnold's portrayal of Merritt, a character so outgoing and likable yet clearly dealing with some deep-seeded trauma.

Bryan Poyser shows his tact as a screenwriter for producing a script that has a great, believable balance of genuine moments and lighthearted laughs. At no point does the film feel phony or overly sentimental, which similar movies have struggled with. It was also nice to see an older woman in film's starring role, something that is unfortunately all too rare these days. and

Kafka's portrayal of Mags is something that is definitely going to strike a chord with audience members. Above all, Mags is a people-pleaser who bites her tongue as to not come off as difficult or unprofessional or god forbid bitter. But on the inside, she is deeply hurt and feels like the human embodiment of wasted potential. It's a dilemma that many have had to go through before, especially women, in a society where being seen as ungrateful or too-outspoken is practically social suicide.

Her defining moment is when she calls her old director on the phone to finally give her a piece of her mind after all those years of waiting and rejection. As an audience member, it was so rewarding to watch Mags as a character, find her voice and learn to respect herself without fear of what others may think. By the end, she has stopped waiting around to be cast by others and instead has taken her career into her own hands. Her evolution was truly a joy to watch unfold on screen.

With a few days left at this year's Tribeca film festival, Leads remains a strong contender for the Audience Choice Award. Poyser, Kafka, Arnold, and company should all be very proud of the story they were able to tell.