by Nathaniel R
Here's one we absolutely meant to review at Sundance but didn't get to. We did you disservice. This must-see drama from writer Katy Brand and director Sophie Hyde, now streaming on Hulu, is a fine specimen in the increasingly endangered species of "character-based drama for adults". More rising directors and screenwriters should attempt low-budget premises like -- easier to get funding -- provided they can find and guide actors savvy enough to pull off something direct and delicate. Hyde and Brand have done just that even if they haven't attempted to make it very "cinematic". It's not based on a play but it does feel like a film version of a play. For the wisely economical 97 minute running time we're entirely focused on just two people in one hotel room. Nancy Stokes (Emma Thompson) is a lonely fifty something widow who hires a male escort "Leo Grande" (Daryl McCormack) to fill the void of human connection in her life. She also hopes to finally experience an orgasm...
Nancy isn't brave enough to quite articulate all the reasons she needs this, at least not at first, but through multiple encounters she begins to loosen up. Though you can largely guess where Good Luck To You Leo Grande is going, there are multiple pleasures to be found in watching the journey. It's riveting to witness Nancy opening up, verbally, emotionally, and sexually. And the sex-positive message is a joy, even more of a rarity in films than the character-based adult drama.
There's already been much discussion online of Emma Thompson's "brave" nude scene. Brave is in quotes because the word is misused on the regular for discussing physically fit utterly gorgeous actors in their prime appearing in stages of undress. How exactly is that brave? The word should be saved for performances this vulnerable and revealing from actors who might not fit mainstream beauty standards whether through body type, or age, or other random factors; Emma Thompson is, of course, a beautiful photogenic woman, but she's also a woman of 63 in an industry and culture that regularly disposes of or dismisses women who are past, say, 40... especially as sexual beings.
Her final scene in Leo Grande is a thing of utter beauty, not just for her willingness to bare her own body, but for illuminating Nancy's soul. Thompson is operating at a level we haven't seen from her since at least Angels in America (2003). In fact, we'd argue that her rendition of Nancy Stokes can stand proudly with her Beatrice, Miss Kenton, Margaret Schlegel, and Elinor Dashwood to form a career defining quintet. It's further proof, if you needed any, that she's one of the greatest screen actors of all time. B+ (A+ for Emma)
Good Luck To You, Leo Grande is currently streaming on Hulu