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Date: 6/27/2022
On Hulu: Good Luck to You Leo Grande
Emma Thompson is an actor who I feel can do pretty much everything: comedy and drama. In her latest film, she plays a retired and widowed schoolteacher in her sixties who is confronting elements of her life that have left her uncertain, unhappy and certainly dissatisfied.
Thompson plays Nancy Stokes, a woman who has hired a male sex worker for the purpose of experiencing sex. Although married for 30 years, Nancy was not satisfied with that part of her life and now is determined – or so she thinks – to finally feel things she has not in the past.
The escort is a handsome young man with a very calm demeanor named Leo. Played with understatement by Daryl McCormack, Leo is there to be whatever Nancy wants or needs. If it’s conversation, he’s ready. If it’s something else, he will provide it.
The difficulty is Nancy, despite her intentions, is not ready to a take this plunge, and the movie is essentially a character study into both people. While some internet descriptions have characterized this film as a comedy and drama, that is very misleading. This is not a sex comedy and in fact the sexual aspects to the story really take a back seat to the real story: how people construct inner lives and personalities to protect themselves from the reality of their situation.
Nancy’s goal of sexual fulfillment takes a back seat to untangling other parts of her life: how she views herself, for instance, and her relationship to her two adult children, as well as what she has done with her life.
Leo, like all of us, has baggage as well and his life as a sex worker has been his way to protect himself from his reality.
While the film has sex at its center, it not an exploitive in the least. This is not some 1980s sex comedy at all.
In many ways this is a film for anyone who has had doubts or regrets in their lives that have become more entrenched and binding as their lives have progressed.
The two lead performances are wonderful. Thompson certainly inhabits Nancy’s skin very well: a person who is attempting to address parts of her life that have long needed attention. McCormack is extremely sympathetic, but has his own issues.
Frankly, they are both Oscar-worthy performances in my mind.
The film was written by a woman, Katy Brand and directed by Sophie Hyde, which brings a needed different perspective.
I was happy to see that this film is streaming on Hulu as it is the kind of art house film that would be buried in today’s theatrical release climate. A film that essentially takes place in one setting and has only really three speaking parts may not be able to pry an audience from their homes to a theater. There are no superheroes, no explosions, no big stars, but just a good story told well.
I regret to write this opinion, but it is true. When the recent film “Everything Everywhere All at Once” became a hit, a good part of the coverage was centered not on the film and its performances but rather that indie company A24 managed to get the film into theaters where it became a success.
For me, indie films are frequently more interesting.