‘Leads’ Review – When Ambition And Family Collide In A College Town [AFF 2025]

Sometimes, a film doesn’t need high drama or sweeping revelations to say something true; it just needs two people who know how to listen to each other, challenge each other, and occasionally make a mess of things. Leads, directed and written by Bryan Poyser from a story by Justin Arnold and Heather Kafka, is one of those films. It’s small, modest, and maybe even a little scrappy, but that’s part of its charm. Beneath its indie simplicity lies a tender, funny, and occasionally bruising look at ambition, regret, and the complicated ties that bind siblings who never quite got where they thought they’d be.

Mags Malloy (Heather Kafka) has settled into a comfortable, predictable life in her small college town, teaching eager students and quietly grappling with a career that “almost” happened. Her world is turned upside down when her baby brother, Merritt Malloy (Justin Arnold), drifts into town. Charming, unpredictable, and eager to carve his own path, Merritt decides to audit Mags’s acting class, setting off a subtle but intense battle for control, influence, and recognition. What could have been a simple story about sibling rivalry quickly becomes a study in personal ambition, artistic frustration, and the complicated love between family members.

The two lead performances are the film’s core strength. Kafka and Arnold have a natural, lived-in chemistry that anchors the film. Their dynamic is neither overplayed nor melodramatic; it feels like watching two real siblings who know each other inside and out, testing boundaries while secretly caring deeply. Arnold is the standout here. His Merritt is kind, charming, and magnetic, injecting every scene he enters with energy and charisma. Kafka, in contrast, grounds the story with a quiet steadiness, portraying Mags with patience, subtle humor, and the subtle ache of someone who brushed against a dream but never fully grasped it. Their interplay gives the film both tension and warmth, and it’s clear that without them, Leads would lose its emotional core.

One of the film’s most appealing qualities is its intimate, college-town setting. The environment mirrors Mags’s life perfectly: comfortable, controlled, and a little stagnant. Merritt’s arrival disrupts that equilibrium. It’s not about chaos for chaos’s sake; every joke, disagreement, or tender moment has stakes that feel personal. The classroom scenes, in particular, work beautifully because the students serve as both an audience and a mirror for the characters’ ambitions. We see how Merritt’s charisma unsettles the established order, how Mags struggles to maintain authority without losing the connection that makes her a good teacher, and how both are pushed to reflect on their own choices and regrets.

The film’s modest scale is part of its charm. It doesn’t try to be larger than life or overly stylized. There’s a loose, lived-in authenticity that makes Leads feel like a play unfolding in real time, with characters navigating the stakes of their own personal dramas rather than chasing a flashy plot. This approach suits the story perfectly, emphasizing character development and emotional honesty over spectacle.

That said, Leads is not without its flaws. The film occasionally struggles to maintain momentum, particularly in the midsection when Merritt’s antics in the classroom feel repetitive, and some subplots, like a minor student conflict or Mags’s personal life outside teaching, receive little development before being dropped. Certain secondary characters never fully come to life, leaving moments that could have added depth feeling undercooked. The film leans heavily on Kafka and Arnold’s performances, which is both a strength and a limitation: their chemistry carries nearly every scene, but when the focus shifts away from them, the story can feel thin. A few pacing issues emerge in the middle. These rough edges prevent Leads from fully realizing its potential, even as its heart and humor remain intact.

Despite these imperfections, Leads succeeds where it counts. It captures the messy, human aspects of ambition, sibling relationships, and creative life in a way that feels tender, relatable, and occasionally funny. It’s cute without being saccharine, honest without being heavy-handed, and authentic in a way that makes you care about characters who are, in many ways, “never-quites” rather than failures—people who brushed against their dreams but didn’t quite catch them.

Leads had its Texas Premiere at the 2025 Austin Film Festival. 

Director: Bryan Poyser

Writers: Bryan Poyser, Heather Kafka, Justin Arnold 

Rated: NR

Runtime: 102m