Good Luck To You, Leo Grande (2022)

By: Mike Ward on Saturday, June 25

R Running Time: 97 mins

SHOULD I SEE IT?

YES

  • We don’t deserve Emma Thompson.

  • A fearless, frank and provocative look at human sexuality, through the prism of an older woman who is exploring life after tragedy in new and exciting ways. Props to all involved for putting a story like this out into the world.

  • It’s a shame this will not get a chance in theaters, but Good Luck to You, Leo Grande is a thoughtful, conscientious adult story that would normally have put Emma Thompson into awards discussion.

NO

  • I guess prudes need not apply.

  • Dialogue rich, this is more a two-person dramatic character study then some wild sexually charged late-night viewing experience.

  • May feel inconsequential to some. Pointless maybe to others.


OUR REVIEW

When we first meet Nancy Stokes (Emma Thompson), a widowed religious education/theology high school teacher in her mid-50s, she is settling into a nice, spacious hotel room. Soon, a knock will come to the door and a 20-something male escort named Leo Grande (Daryl McCormack) will enter the hotel, ready to begin his next assignment.

Bypassing theaters, and therefore ending any potential Oscar considerations for Thompson, Good Luck to You, Leo Grande tells the story of Nancy and Leo, as their newly transactional relationship will largely take place in that same hotel room over the course of several weeks and appointments. As their familiarity with one another grows, and they become more comfortable with each other,  Nancy and Leo struggle between keeping things strictly business and a blurring of lines with personal and professional connection.

Directed by Sophie Hyde, Leo Grande is almost exclusively a two-hander where Thompson and McCormack’s characters talk, explore, and learn about each other. Nancy is instantly vulnerable and Leo presents as kind and warm, clearly experienced in his line of work. He is savvy enough to recognize that Nancy is wrestling with curiosity, shame, as well as anxiety and excitement in sharing sexual experiences she has never shared with anyone. As she describes her late husband, he was by-the-books and unimaginative when it came to intimacy; Nancy admits that she has never experienced an orgasm in her entire life.

Leo takes all of this in stride and never veers outside of Nancy’s comfort level with where their meetings go. McCormack is quite good in this role - brandishing a calming, unassuming tone and willing to guide Nancy wherever she is willing to go. The chemistry between McCormack and Thompson is immediate, nimbly playing with great dialogue written by British comedienne Katy Brand.

Hyde, Brand, and Thompson and McCormack, recognize that there is a halting, unspoken barrier these characters must tiptoe around. Leo Grande never steps into the trap of becoming a sexy romantic comedy, though the film is very forthcoming with frank dialogue and sex-positive scenes and depictions. Instead, this becomes a character study on marginalization, perception, rejection, assumption, and sensitivity. Oftentimes, the discussions are intriguing - though the film cannot steer away from a third act conflict that you know is likely coming, but you nonetheless hope never arrives.

That momentary diversion does not derail two outstanding performances, especially from Thompson, who radiates an honesty that is as endearing as it is insightful. Of course, part of Leo Grande’s buzz centers around the reality that women of a particular age do not get to play characters like Nancy Stokes. Thompson’s willingness to share all of Nancy with the audience is not so much a salacious or provocative turn of events, but rather a refreshing, sex-positive message of acceptance and acknowledgment of the female form. 

McCormack, who some may recognize from the popular series “Peaky Blinders,” matches her beat-for-beat, and, as we learn, has a backstory of shame and fear that allows Nancy to understand her decision-making and personal hesitations differently.

Good Luck to You, Leo Grande, is an intriguing character study, which probably speaks a lot more direct and personal to viewers than they would perhaps care to admit. In the end, there is no judgment here whatsoever. This isn’t about Nancy getting any groove back. This is about Nancy finding an internal strength that sheds the constraints of living for others and finds agency, and no shame, in putting her personal needs first.

CAST & CREW

Starring: Emma Thompson, Daryl McCormack, Isabella Laughland

Director: Sophie Hyde
Written by: Katy Brand
Release Date: June 17, 2022
Searchlight Pictures/Hulu