Two-time Academy Award winner Emma Thompson stars as Nancy Stokes, who embarks on a post-marital sexual awakening. Video / SearchlightPictures
Emma Thompson's winning nature as a performer helps sustain this two-hander with good intentions and a wobbly tone.
The film mostly plays out across three (or so) hotel room rendezvous between "Nancy Stokes" (Thompson) a widow in her mid-50s using an assumed name, and a young escort calling himself "LeoGrande" (Daryl McCormack).
When they first meet, Nancy says she's only ever had average sex with her now-dead husband, and she has hired Leo to see what all the fuss is about. But she's propulsively neurotic about her appearance and age and proceeds to spend most of their first meeting over-explaining herself, expressing concern that she's exploiting Leo and presuming that he's been sex-trafficked.
Leo calmly and repeatedly re-assures her that he is doing something he wants to do and that Nancy is an attractive woman who deserves to be able to enjoy sex. Progress is made, but Nancy's neuroses continue to rear their head. Her and Leo's relationship becomes more complicated as they share personal details with each other.
Hanging itself on the ability of two performers to carry an entire movie, this is a sincere and empathetic film that invites the viewer to see the world through its characters' eyes.
Daryl McCormack and Emma Thompson in sex dramedy Good Luck to You, Leo Grande, in cinemas now.
There isn't a lot of room in contemporary mainstream culture for adult discussions about sex, so it's encouraging to see a film tackle that head-on. But while the motivations are to be commended, it also reflects a familiar tittering prudishness at times, perhaps in the name of putting the viewer at ease. Plus it may be partly attributable to Thompson's acting baggage, but it occasionally dips into Richard Curtis (Love Actually) territory, which seems out of step with the rest of the movie.
That said, Thompson's undeniable presence keeps the film engaging, even when the pace lags and the stage-bound, single-location nature of its format makes itself known. The intimacy is the point but I found myself yearning for other perspectives.
And although their characters occasionally feel more like archetypes than actual people, Thompson and McCormack affect an appealing chemistry, guaranteed to induce a wide smile.
Cast: Emma ThompsonDaryl McCormack Director: Sophie Hyde Running time: 97 minutes Rating: M (Sex scenes, offensive language and nudity) Verdict: Sex positivity + Emma Thompson = a good time.
