Good Luck to You, Leo Grande is a slow burn film that feels like a well shot stage play. Fans of single settings, dialogue driven narratives, with emotional delivery will cheer for this. The art of acting is often lost these days in ballistic distractions. Not here. Performance is key and job one; and near perfect.
The fly on the wall voyeuristic nature of watching this one keeps the viewer engaged and at times a tad uncomfortable. As if we are watching someone in their most vulnerable moments, and they don’t know we are there. At the same time it heightens the connection between cast and audience.
Monotony is the thing that often plagues this movie.
The deep moments are profound, but other times may seem repetitive. The 90-minutes feels longer, and without the expert performances would be even worse.
Emma Thompson gives us an award worthy execution.
Nancy (Thompson) is a widow struggling with regrets. She longs for a connection both emotionally and sexually. At 55 she has little confidence when it comes to her body, her prowess in the bedroom, and many things that haunt us all after a certain age. She is hoping that hiring Leo (Daryl McCormack) for his “set of skills” will allow her to explore uncharted territory. But it is not as easy as all that.
If you are looking for 50 Shades of Gray this is not it.
Leo is patient and supportive through it all. This allows Nancy to work through all her emotions organically. Though there is a lot of talk about sex in graphic detail there is little in the way of physical acts. Director Sophie Hyde does a wonderful job of adapting Katy Brand’s script into a mature film void of any gratuitous injections.
Hulu is the perfect place to launch Good Luck to You, Leo Grande as it plays better from your couch than it might on the big screen.
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