Emma Thompson and Daryl McCormack star alongside each other in a groundbreaking new film, Good Luck to you, Leo Grande.
The film follows an anxious Nancy Stokes as she hires a young sex worker, Leo Grande. Nancy reveals she has been very unfulfilled in her sex life and wishes to tick off the basic sexual experiences with Leo.
Nancy is embarrassed about hiring Leo and frequently tells him he can leave. The more they meet up, the more confident Nancy becomes, until something causes a rift between the two.
Film Stories
Linda Marric: 5 stars
Marric writes that ‘Thompson puts in a fearless and, typically for her, disarming turn as a woman who has to relearn to love everything about herself in order to reclaim her sexuality.’
She went on to say that Good Luck to you, Leo Grande will be studied for years to come; ‘It’s not every day we are presented with a piece of filmmaking that is so set on rewriting the rule book on how women of a certain age are viewed.’
The Guardian
Mark Kermode: 3 stars
Despite Kermode labelling Leo Grande as an ‘endlessly accommodating gigolo’, who is ‘performative’, overall, he writes that the film ‘flits lightly between laughter and tears while keeping things firmly in the easy-listening register.’
He adds: ‘It’s no surprise that the endlessly versatile Thompson should be note-perfect in a tragicomic role.’
Decider
John Serba: Stream It
While many reviews talk strongly about Thompson’s performance, Serba touches on Daryl McCormack’s equally outstanding work.
‘Leo is thoroughly convincing in his assertions, both logically and emotionally, which is his way of taking a cutting torch to the steel walls Nancy has spent years fortifying around her.’
Serba writes ‘McCormick is as smooth as Thompson is prickly, and all their compelling, fascinating, ticklish talk teases what’s to come: the idea that personal growth occurs when body and mind become one.’
Overall, Serba declares that the film should be watched by all as it is ‘an insightful, funny and tantalizingly sophisticated endeavor featuring two superlative performances.’
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes currently has Good Luck to you, Leo Grande at a 95% audience rating.
One reviewer writes, ‘My new favorite movie and each time I’ve watched, I’m more impressed with the subtle messages. The dialogue, acting and storyline are impeccable.’
Additionally, another reviewer simply writes that the film ‘Completely reimagines what it means to come into your sexuality.’
