221. Good Luck To You, Leo Grande; movie review

 

GOOD LUCK TO YOU, LEO GRANDE

Cert 15

98 mins

BBFC advice: Contains strong sex references, sex, strong language

It's 33 years since Emma Thompson romped around a bedroom naked with Jeff Goldblum in The Tall Guy.

I was smitten with her then as I am now - for the quality of her acting, her impish humour and, I have to admit, her sexiness.

Thompson makes a brave statement for people of a certain age in the poignant and very funny Good Luck To You, Leo Grande.

She plays Nancy Stokes, a widowed school teacher, who hires a very attractive young sex worker (Daryl McCormack) for an afternoon of exploration.

Nancy has only ever experienced routine sex with one man and is, therefore, interested to know if she has been missing out.

But Sophie Hyde's movie is not simply a romp between the sheets - it centres more on the nervousness and repression of a woman who feels as if life has passed her by.

Meanwhile, there are also some hilarious moments as her longstanding barriers are slowly and awkwardly lifted.

No surprise that Thompson is wonderful - her comic timing is impeccable and she gleans empathy with almost every sentence.

She is complemented superbly by McCormack who plays a gentle but intelligent accomplice to what she sees as act of debauchery.

Every time she goes on jittery tangents or even says she has decided against going ahead with their 'transaction', he provides the cool, calm and intelligent reassurance.

There are a number of issues deftly tackled in Hyde's film which, in many ways, resembles a theatre piece.

Firstly, there is the obvious ones surrounding the sex industry and the associated prejudice and presumptions against those who are part of it.

And then there is the question of age and judgments about not growing old disgracefully.

But Good Luck To You, Leo Grande is certainly not po-faced. We laughed out loud five times and that is a very good hit rate for a movie which is not an out-and-out comedy.

As said, we have long been fans of Emma Thompson but this made us love her a little bit more.

Reasons to watch: Great performances and lots of laughs

Reasons to avoid: Quite straightforward sex talk

Laughs: Six

Jumps: None

Vomit: None

Nudity: Yes

Overall rating: 8.5/10

Did you know? It is estimated there are as many as 100,000 sex workers across the UK, and about 20% of them are male. Some of these men see their work as a positive choice, but for the most vulnerable it can be little more than a means to survive.

The final word. Emma Thompson: "I had no reservations. I mean, I just didn't. I don't think that I knew quite the depth of what I was getting into, actually, if I'm honest, but I had no reservations whatsoever." Elle

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