Sundance 2022: Good Luck to You, Leo Grande
sundance 2022Over the previous few decades in cinema, sexuality has become a more mainstream topic than ever. Especially when it comes to exploring the layers and nuances of female sexuality, more and more films are finding larger and larger platforms to share their voices and life experiences. Even with this progress however, there is still work to be done. There are still countless perspectives overlooked and ignored including that of older women. Very rarely is the sexuality and intimate emotions of older women expressed on screen in a serious and vulnerable setting. Still, some films look to fill this gap, including Sophie Hyde's Good Luck to You, Leo Grande which is screening as part of the 2022 Sundance Film Festival. Opening on a clean hotel room where 55-year old widow Nancy Stokes (Emma Thompson) waits for the younger Leo Grande (Daryl McCormack) to knock on the door. 2-years after the death of her husband, Stokes is looking for something new in life and has decided to hire Grande to have sex with. When he arrives, Stokes gets overwhelmed and comes close to having a full-blown breakdown. Through multiple meetings, both herself and Grande open up to each other and seek to find closure to their open emotional wounds.
As with many films looking at this perspective, Good Luck to You, Leo Grande first captures the audience's heart with comedy. Both due to the screenplay from Katy Brand and the incredibly personable performance from Emma Thompson, the film is absolutely hysterical at points. Seeing Thompson have to confront her awkwardness regarding the situation she finds herself in against the incredibly calm and reassuring Daryl McCormack leads to a natural comedic playground that leads to actual laugh-out-loud moments more often than plenty of full comedies that release. The jokes never feel forced or awkward but instead, stand as natural and authentic to the emotions of the situation.
This is crucial considering the deeper vulnerability found within the project. These two characters feel alive and layered as they find themselves next to each other and how they slowly open up and reveal more about themselves feels completely natural. Nothing regarding the screenplay feels scripted or fake which allows the power of these characters to be as powerful as ever. There are numerous topics found throughout the conversation of the film and each gets a respectable amount of time and attention. From Stokes dealing with not just her aging sexuality and lackluster history with orgasms but also seeing society change and feeling unsatisfied as a mother, to Grande slowly opening up regarding his relationship with his mother and ideals as a sex worker, the film might be fun but is also deeply mature and meaningful.
Make no mistake that while much of the film's success is because of its screenplay, the performances are equally impressive. Emma Thompson finds a vulnerability that leads to one of the best performances in her already fantastic career while the film acts almost like a coming-out party for Daryl McCormack who shows so much talent for controlling a scene and creating an on-screen presence. These two have an undeniable chemistry that feels so raw and rare. It isn't that these two necessarily bring out pure joy from each other but offers a rival of sorts to have the conversations each needs to have. This relationship is pushed and combative at times but the connection is always visceral.
One should also be careful not to overlook the solid production of the feature. While clearly burdened by the restrictions of the COVID-19 pandemic, the film makes simple small choices that help elevate so much of the final runtime. From eloquent title cards signaling the start of each encounter between these two to the setting of a hotel room that can physically morph with the emotions of a scene from being perfectly clean and tidy to an absolute mess of destructions. The sound design also makes multiple subtle choices throughout such as the background sounds of crashing waves as Stokes reminisces on a previous experience near the ocean that almost subconsciously helps pull the audience in and give them a deeper emotional connection to the content of the conversations.
While it would be incredibly easy for a film like Good Luck to You, Leo Grande to sink into the void of just being an average comedy, the final result here is something nearly remarkable. The film is poignant and purposeful with every decision both on and off-screen. The screenplay is sure to be one of the year's finest alongside two perfect performances. This should be seen as nothing less than an absolute success and one of the true gems of the 2022 Sundance Film Festival.
