The Sundance Film Festival, even in its reduced virtual Covid-afflicted form, was able to release several movies that we still talk about a year later in the Oscar conversation.CODA, Jockey, Passing, Flee,Mass.Maybe it was the one-word titles. However, the fest honchos chose well and the voters are now enjoying the rewards. As I have been seeing one film after another in this year’s (virtual) fest I find myself looking for that breakout movie or performance which with the right distribution we will be talking about still a year from now. Although there have been promising performances from Bill Nighy, Julianne Moore and others, Emma Thompson’s performance in the British film really impressed me. Good Luck To You, Leo Grande,Sundance is her premiere performance, where, to put it mildly: she knocks it out the park. Thompson at her finest, a funny, brilliant performer. And most importantly CouragePerformance that will undoubtedly be remembered. Her co-star Daryl McCormack in this two-hander is equally good in the movie which centers on a 60ish widowed mother of two and religious studies teacher who hires a sex worker for a tryst in a hotel room. This is a complicated story. that,In this story, two people from different backgrounds come together. One is full of anxiety, past regrets, and the other is professional to his core. However, he has a guard he won’t let down and a line that he won’t cross.
This movie, by a lucky timing, is the perfect one to make during a pandemic. Two stars, one cast (well, until the last act) and lots of dialogue make Katy Brand’s screenplay really stand out, especially with Sophie Hyde as director, who is perfectly matched for the material. It was a great play for Broadway. It is a show-like play that has its own unique charm.Same time next yearSix Dance Lessons In Six Weeks,However, Hyde and her talented team of artisans make it a truly cinematic journey.
Thompson plays Nancy Stokes (real life name). don’t think so ) whose nice but uneventful marriage of 31 years to a good but unexciting man ended with his death a couple of years ago. She has two children, one of which is a grown child.
She considers her son to be quite ordinary and teaches Religious Studies. She is 60+ and has the guts to hire a young sex worker, Leo Grande (McCormack). This is something this somewhat repressed and certainly sexually unadventurous woman has never done, and it doesn’t come cheap. As she steps into the hotel room, her anxieties and doubts are quickly joined by Leo’s knock at the door. Leo looks equally stunning in person than he does in the picture on the internet. The meeting is awkward due to Nancy’s inability to pay attention and her limited time. She unleashes fear, shame, and fantasies, even though she knows the grass is greener on the other end. Leo is cool, well-dressed and well-spoken. He even admitted to Nancy that he was 82 years old when he asked Nancy about his oldest client. Leo is a pro when it comes to sex and Nancy’s needs. Although this meeting ends with a tentative leap into the deep end it is only the beginning.
Brand and Hyde split the story into four acts. The second meeting is where Nancy brings a list of possible sexual activities that she is open to and willing to try. “f**kit” list, no deviations please and let’s get them out of the way. With this revelation, her curiosity about Leo’s character grows. This becomes dangerous when she gets too nervous in their third meeting (act 3), where raw feelings and invasions of privacy erupt. The final act offers a break in the pace, as well as a brief appearance of Becky (Isabella Laughland’s amusing sidekick), and some surprising plot twists.
This is a character study though and through for both Thompson and McCormack to dive into with abandon , and that they do erasing inhibitions physically, but adding them up in other ways that makes this sexual cat and mouse game never less than fascinating to watch where it takes us – and them – next. This movie is about the struggle to let go of the past and forging intimate relationships on more than one level. It also focuses on making human connections and discovering a new self. The movie is an excellent choice for both McCormack and Thompson, who will certainly be able to compete with Rege-Jean Page. Thompson better be ready for another awards show in a few years. This is one of her greatest moments and an irresistible character. rareOne for actors over a certain age.
Debbie Gray and Adrian Politowski are the producers. Genesius Pictures owns it.