Emma Thompson and Daryl McCormack in Good Luck to You, Leo Grande
It's rare indeed that a movie delves into the sexual fantasies of a menopausal woman, particularly one who has committed to a bland sex life throughout her marriage and waits until her husband is safely dead to try to discover what all the fuss was about. As Nancy Stokes, retired Sex Ed teacher at a conservative Roman Catholic girls' school, the versatile and astonishing Emma Thompson reveals her considerable chops as an actress and pushes the boundaries of the long-ignored longings of women. In Daryl McCormack, as the smooth, biracial male prostitute, she has met her match as a performer and as the character he is portraying.
The promotion of Good Luck to You, Leo Grande seems to suggest it is something of a romantic comedy, which is definitely isn't. There are awkward laughs, yes, and two interesting, flawed people working their way from what might be considered flirtation through insights for both, but it is neither lightweight nor amusing, except for certain moments. Thompson starts out like a fluttery, conflicted virgin, wrestling her lifelong concepts about sex being dirty but pleasurable for some, and definitely resisting the notion that in order to experience what she says she wants, she must surrender all the baggage she brought to the party. As her partner, Daryl McCormack is preternaturally patient, kind, and somewhat bemused by the challenge of awakening his new client. I went from being attracted to him and embarrassed for her to half-hoping he might break through her psychological coldness and provide her with the experience she was asking for.
I felt it was a rather long road getting there. We see Nancy awaken to his physical attraction when he takes his shirt off for her, and we see how difficult it is for her to allow that attraction to take her anywhere. We listen to the banter between them, and see that she finds more than his body appealing. He is always professional and we admire his work ethic, such as it is. She crosses a line that almost breaks both of them, yet we are given an interesting twist-ending that leaves us with a lot of food for thought.
I thought it was a little strange that one of Nancy's early questions to Leo is "Are you Irish?" and that his answer is simply yes. McCormack's Irishness is hardly something that one notices first. Also, I was a bit bothered that as a sex worker he was not adept at the kind of paraphernalia mandatory with menopausal women--that she was going to have sex was known from the first scene but it is treated as if she were a nubile 18-year-old perfectly moist for any encounter. I know it was a fairy tale, but it had the pretense of being realistic, so I'll just state here that it would have made more sense if a frame or two had dealt with the elephant in the room. It is true that a woman in her sixties can enjoy sex--but she needs a boost from a few simple over-the-counter items. The film presents elder sex as pretty much the same as full-on hormone-rich sex of people in their reproductive prime. It isn't. It can be good, but it is different--no big deal, of course, but why ignore the fact? I also was shocked when Leo asked her outright if she's had an orgasm. No woman wants to answer that one and as experienced a pro as he is, he wouldn't ask.
The movie is streaming on hulu. I recommend it. I know it would be educational for men, but I think this one could be a real eye-opener for women. It's about feelings, but not the feelings we are accustomed to seeing onscreen. And it introduces an exciting young actor at the outset of his career, surely capable of rising to major stardom.
