A film came across the work desk that inspired a borrowing. It was Good Luck To You, Leo Grande. It stars Emma Thompson as a lonely woman who enlists a male prostitute for a night. It’s an unusual premise, and role, but I’ll be interested to see how it plays out. It has the potential to be incredibly cringe, and I wonder how cringe can it go, and can I take it? I like how Emma looks on the cover artwork: vulnerable, awkward, and yes, a little bit hot. But I’m old.
I watched the film, Good Luck To You, Leo Grande. It was good, structured around a number of client sessions between the male prostitute Leo Grande’ and Emma Thompson’s character. She’s out to explore her sexuality, and maybe finally have an orgasm, after years of being with an unresponsive husband who recently died. It’s a very theatrical two-hander of a film, mostly featuring the two leads and a lot of dialogue. Some sex is definitely (but discreetly) had, but it’s mostly about the talk. All through it I couldn’t help wondering if Emma was wearing some kind of prosthetics to make her look more dowdy and a bit overweight. The final shots feature very sagging breasts, whereas in the scene previously, when she was having some wild sex with Leo, they looked downright perky. I suspect prosthetics or at least digital manipulation. It doesn’t matter in the end: it’s a very brave performance speaking to issues of body shame. It’s interesting how the woman needs reassurance from the male prostitute, whereas a man wouldn’t give a fuck. He’s paid for it, now he’s getting laid – and the way he looks doesn’t figure into it. He paid. End of story.