It would never be a particularly good time for Mags Malloy’s kid brother to show up unannounced. But when Merritt arrives at the beginning of Leads , Mags is on the edge of unraveling. Nearing 50, she’s raising a 7-year-old and struggling to make ends meet, teaching acting to college students and squeezing in the occasional audition; she’s self-taping one when his knock shatters the quiet evening. Like the cooler full of once-fresh Alaska salmon he magnanimously offers, Merritt’s good intentions have a way of going bad.

But this is essentially a heartening movie. Along with the cavalcade of tensions and explosions that Merritt sets off, there are potentially life-changing breakthroughs. Built around two strong central performances, Bryan Poyser’s well-observed feature captures emotional

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