Good Luck to You, Leo Grande Review

Good Luck to You, Leo Grande is a character-driven comedy-drama that earned a cinematic release in the UK and was released on Hulu in the USA.

Nancy Stokes (Emma Thompson) is a widow and a former schoolteacher. She books meetings with Leo Grande (Daryl McCormack), a male escort. Over the course of their four meetings, Nancy opens up to Leo about her life and desires.

Good Luck to You, Leo Grande was a small-scale film that had a lot of talent involved. Thompson was the marque star, McCormack is an emerging talent, it was directed by Sophie Hyde (Animals) and comedian Katy Brand wrote the screenplay. What they created was a delightfully hilarious film.

Good Luck to You, Leo Grande felt like a stage play. Most of the film takes place in a hotel room and for most of the running it focused on two characters. It meant the film was a dialogue-heavy film and it led to some hilarious lines. A lot of the humour came from Nancy’s awkwardness as she questions what she’s doing, and the back-and-forth between Nancy and Leo. There was a lot of laughter during my screening. It was a perfect match of actors and dialogue.

The humour was only a part of the reason why Good Luck to You, Leo Grande was so good. It felt so natural. It was a film about Nancy’s progression and how she gains confidence during her meetings with Leo. She starts off as an uptight and nervous woman who becomes more confident and experimental as she enacts her sexual fantasy. Nancy finally got to do all the sexual acts she never did with her husband.

The film was about the evolution of Nancy and Leo’s relationship. Nancy opened up to Leo about her life, her experience as a teacher, and her relationship with her children. She was franker and more honest with Leo than she had been with anyone else. Leo was able to reassure Nancy during their meetings.

Whilst Nancy opened up to Leo about her life, Leo remained guarded. He did not reveal much about his life. The subject of Leo’s mother was a particularly sensitive one. McCormack shows he’s an actor with a great amount of talent. Outwardly he was a charming man with a chiselled body but underneath had loads going on. He was someone who had experienced a lot of pain in his life, and he wanted to keep it hidden.

The interactions between Nancy and Leo felt real and naturalist. The film was like watching two real people as they gradually broke down their walls.

Good Luck to You, Leo Grande was a charming film that was naturally humorous. It served as a great showcase for McCormack and Brand and a reminder of how brilliant an actress Emma Thompson is.