Good Luck To You, Leo Grande - Movie Review

Critics Score - 7

General Audience Score - 7

As we exit the summer and enter the fall, the movie industry changes gears and we movie from mainstream blockbuster films to more smaller films that have their eyes on Oscar award potential. When it comes to Best Actress in 2023, Cate Blanchett in Tar, Ana De Armas in Blonde and maybe if the multiverse aligns, Michelle Yeoh from Everything Everywhere All At Once will be among the names of those hopeful to snag a nomination. Without a doubt, one name that should be included in this conversation is Emma Thompson for her portrayal of Nancy Stokes in Good Luck To You, Leo Grande. Thompson is delightful alongside the also impressive Daryl McCormack in this intimate character study of a middle aged woman in search of some bedroom adventures that she’s never known. This film is now available to stream on Hulu and from the opening moments as Thompson slips out of her flats and into a sexier dress shoe, we’re bought into her portrayal of this woman in search of physical love throughout it’s trim hour and a half runtime. Apart from Thompson’s performance, the film discusses some heavy themes of personal sexuality and sex work, although how much of it’s approach general audiences will actually get on board with is uncertain. If you’re interested in the Best Actress race, you’ll definitely want to check out Leo Grande and for Thompson in her efforts to get a nomination I say, Good Luck To You.

SYNOPSIS - This kinky hotel room adventure begins with a camera shot of the back of a young man’s head, Leo Grande (Daryl McCormack), as he sits in a coffee shop humming and wearing a mustard yellow beanie. The scene cuts to Nancy Stokes (Emma Thompson) checking into her hotel room and as I mentioned, she slips out of some more comfortable footwear into some sexier shoes to fit the occasion. Thompson packs a real punch straight out of the gate as she fiddles about the room and nervously pours herself a drink. Behind her standard schoolteacher attire of a dark maroon skirt and jacket combo with a colorful blouse, she’s as believable as a middle aged woman looking for love as any other actress’s performance that I’ve seen so far this year. The upbeat chimes and slightly sultry beat of Stay High by Brittany Howard kick on in the background and begin to set the tone for our hotel escapes to come. While the song flows on, the film’s editors cut us back and forth between Thompson preparing for her visitor in her quite large hotel room and McCormack tossing his knapsack over his shoulder and waving bye to the folks at the coffee place. He steps out onto the street, his smooth confidence radiates from his light green eyes as he takes out a mint and tosses it in the air to catch it in his mouth. McCormack is an excellent complement to the screen across from Thompson and although his performance isn’t quite at the level of hers, it’s very good in it’s own right and the two have a very nice chemistry together.

After the two stories intersect a few minutes into the film and Nancy opens the door to her hotel suite, Leo enters and the awkward tension begins. It’s easy to identify with the Nancy character as she asks questions both to Leo about his work and to herself, wondering if this was such a good idea. But as the story continues, both Nancy and the audience grow more at ease as the calm, cool and collected Leo reassures her and navigates the conversations and sexual tension that Nancy and we feel with the greatest of ease. These actors are complemented with an upper tier screenplay, as their dialogue heavy interactions continually engage the audience with this two-hander, the rhythm the film gets into flows back and forth as the relationship progresses and their dynamics start to shift. The humor is used a bit sparingly but it is a delightful and welcome addition to the nervousness some of sequences linger in, like Thompson’s lines of “Oh God, I’m just a seedy old pervert. Just go. It’s disgusting.” But a bit later, as her character describes a sexual experience she had as a youth traveling to Greece with her parents, we literally cannot tear our eyes away from the screen as Thompson’s dialogue delivery is as captivating as they come. However, a bit later in the film, a few sections of the dialogue felt forced and unnatural, inserted just to create dramatic tension. Of course this is to be expected, but in other intimate character studies this drama arises and flows much more naturally. 

The stronger sexual themes and issues this film handles are tackled with an optimism that I enjoyed but wasn’t completely on board with. This film portrays sex work in just about it’s most ideal and dignified way. This is best case scenario stuff. Of course they smartly chose the older woman looking for sexual fulfillment with a younger man, but switch those two genders, surely those are by far the more common scenarios to play out in real life, and some serious problems arise. Both for people in those real life situations and for anyone looking to produce the sequel, Good Luck To You, Lenora Grande. Despite the touchy subject matter the film must tiptoe around, again, it stays eternally optimistic and the sex work portrayed in this film is extremely normalized. The human beings behind this sector of society are often not happy and are not doing this work of their own volition, which is how this film depicts it’s characters and their interactions. But I did appreciate how the the exploration of one’s own sexuality is normalized and thought it was depicted in a fascinating way. This is a natural process that we humans experience as we progress through life and our bodies change, we learn about sexual pleasure and discover what makes us feel sexy, aroused, we’re naturally curious about such things and I thought the film handled those themes well. And not to needlessly heap praise on Thompson, but she absolutely disappears into the role as she goes back and forth with McCormack and they go deep into the wide world of sex. No pun intended.

SUMMARY - While the film handles it’s themes of sex work, one’s own sexuality and it’s nudity in a way that’s overly optimistic, it’s also not for the faint of heart. While Leo Grande may be a challenging watch for some, Thompson will win you over if you give her a chance. For those of you I’ve convinced to give this one a watch I say, Good Luck To You as well.