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Good Luck to You, Leo Grande Movie Review

Good Luck to You, Leo Grande is a 2022 British sex comedy drama film directed by Sophie Hyde and starring Emma Thompson and Daryl McCormack. It’s a flawed, but very sweet movie.

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“There are nuns out there with more

sexual experience than me. It’s embarrassing“

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Retired widow Nancy Stokes hires a good-looking young sex worker called Leo Grande, in the hope of enjoying a night of pleasure and self-discovery after an unfulfilling married life. This is your standard modern movie about sex positivity that doesn’t really go too far into the themes of sexuality and sex workers’ lives, but for a movie it’s detailed enough for the most part.

Although overly convenient in its stagey all-dialogue approach, I still liked that as a huge fan of stage-like dramas. The dialogue in this film is mostly strong with one exception and that is the Leo character. I found him overly intellectual and, typical for this type of movie, too interrogative, resembling a shrink. His repeated “Nancy” line annoyed the hell out of me as it was so condescending.

With that being said, most of their conversations were very interesting to follow and the movie explores the theme of sexual awakening beautifully. The protagonist’s evolution from uncomfortable and shy to confident and feeling sexy was wonderful to witness and the movie’s an important watch for older women in particular. It helped that it was written and directed by two women, so it did not feel exploitative in any shape or form.

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Because the movie was made by women, the male character was expectedly weakly developed and his backstory to me felt frustratingly unrealistic and clichéd. Why do all these sex workers in movies have to have a tragic backstory? Why can’t they just be in it for the money or the enjoyment? This is one trope that needs to die off sooner rather than later.

But Daryl McCormack was still excellent in the role of Leo. Physically, he fits the role and he has that exotic biracial look to him that made him perfect for this character. But the true star here is obviously Emma Thompson. This performance should land her an Oscar nomination. In a powerful choice that paid off, she appeared fully nude in the final act while her expert handling of the character’s many tumultuous emotions deserves a heap of praise.

Good Luck to You, Leo Grande is set mostly in one hotel room, so technically speaking there is nothing really to write home about here, though the movie is well edited and paced as it is consistently engaging. The humor is sporadic and the second half was overly dramatic, but the first half did have some very humorous lines of dialogue that made me smile. The dynamic between these two people is so unique and complex while the movie preaches about a better world where sexuality is free and valued and people are thus more relaxed and happy. There is not a lot of edge to be found here given its subject matter, but its populist approach makes it perfect for people of all ages to view.

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Good Luck to You, Leo Grande is a wonderful sex dramedy that preaches sex positivity without ever being too edgy in its approach. The movie has its flaws – the psychological elements sometimes rang false and the male character wasn’t all that well written – but Emma Thompson was incredible in the main role where she expertly delivered all of those tumultuous emotions that the role demanded of her. The dialogue is mostly excellent and interesting while the ending was quite powerful.

My Rating – 4