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A ‘deeply sensual’ movie about a middle-aged woman who enlists the help of a sex worker after the death of her husband is now streaming for free.
Released in 2022, Good Luck to You, Leo Grande was directed by Sophie Hyde and written by Katy Brand.
Love Actually and Matilda the Musical actress Emma Thompson stars as retired widow Nancy Stokes, who is ‘yearning for some adventure, some human connection, and good sex’.
With her husband gone, she decides to tick off her sex bucket list with a sex worker – turning to Leo Grande, played by Peaky Blinders and Bad Sisters star Daryl McCormack.
It’s been teased of the film: ‘As Nancy embarks on a post-marital sexual awakening and Leo draws on his skills and charm, together they find a surprising human connection.’
‘Over the course of three rendezvous, the power dynamics shift, and their well-worn masks begin to slip.’
Upon its release, the film was praised by both critics and audiences alike, while its two stars were also nominated at the Baftas, while Emma also received a nomination for the Golden Globe Award for best actress in a motion picture musical or comedy.
Boasting a 94% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, Leo Grande has been called a ‘delight’ and even ‘essential viewing’.
‘Intimate in every sense, Good Luck to You, Leo Grande represents an affirming, immensely likable British comedy-drama,’ The Hollywood Reporter wrote in its review.
‘A tender coming-of-late-middle-age drama with a quietly radical idea of self-acceptance at its centre,’ Entertainment Weekly wrote.
‘Leo Grande is a compelling coming-of-age tale that lets us peer into the fragile, fractious process of confronting shame about sex, and a woman’s journey…’ BuzzFeed News added.
Metro’s review read: ‘Funny, remarkable and honest. A female empowerment movie like no other.’
Writing about the lead’s performance, Time also explained: ‘Thompson has always been a terrific actor, but she reaches a new plane here, a place where her vulnerability as a person and her confidence as a performer mesh into something glorious.’
This week Good Luck to You, Leo Grande was also added to Channel 4, where viewers can now watch the movie for free.
In 2022 Emma spoke to Metro about her film – and the importance of showing female pleasure on screen.
When discussing how the film is about a subject matter that is rarely given space on the big screen, she quipped: ‘Female pleasure? No, unless it’s kind of performed… for men. Just saying…
‘I don’t mean to sound bitter but it’s just a performative thing, isn’t it? That women have to somehow perform during sex so that whoever is administering to them feels okay.
‘We’ve been told that sexual pleasure doesn’t matter. Also, we’ve ostracised it and made it something that’s shameful and dirty. Obviously, it is religious and it’s the patriarchy and all of that, in many, many countries in fact, female sexual pleasure is actively discouraged.’
Good Luck to You, Leo Grande, also included the screen icon’s first ever nude scene, with Emma also singling out the film as one of her favourite projects ever.
‘I was asked by somebody where this film sat in the body of work that I’ve done over the last 35 years – I would say that everything I’ve ever done has actually slowly led to this movie,’ she said.
‘It’s the most satisfying thing I’ve ever done, it’s pretty much my favourite.’
Good Luck to You, Leo Grande is streaming on Channel 4.
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