Good Luck to You, Leo Grande: Sex v. Pleasure
Good Luck to You, Leo Grande explores the difference between sex and pleasure through the interactions of retired widow Nancy Stokes and young, hot sex worker Leo Grande. The only man Nancy has ever had sex with is her late husband and even though they were in a lengthy committed relationship she has never experienced sex for pleasure. With the help of Leo Grande in a posh hotel room over four meetings she hopes to find what has been missing, if it even exists at her stage in life.
A premise with a goal in mind, one setting, and two actors make this simple. It is a two-hander that could have been easily a stage play but director Sophie Hyde and writer Katy Brand take risks to deliver this charming exploration of human desires between two top performing actors.
The beauty of this film is its demonstration of boundaries. Leo is very mindful of only doing what Nancy is comfortable with as shown by their first meeting when he asks if he can kiss her on the cheek and continuing this whenever they climb further up to her climax. While its premise seems very risque, the film works to normalize concepts around sex work and self pleasure. Nancy and Leo discuss sex work where she comes from a side of embarrassment he is always there to correct her demeaning idea of his work. This sets a choreographed dance in their hotel meetings balancing Nancy’s unconscious bias and Leo’s confidence into a conversation about a timely topic. Nancy is brought to this room to satisfy her sexual being but in the end it seems likek what she really needs to is find herself.
The film makes the decision to not show sex until the third act. The se is intimate and not for our eyes until we finally unwrap our two subjects. The large king size bed we see mostly used for conversation instead of the act is almost like a set piece for them to go on their journeys of self-discovery. That’s why the reveal of sex on scene hits so hard because at that moment Nancy is there to actually enjoy it and not check it off her to do list. Leo has been helping her understand passion and how sex is an act of desire. Her coming to terms with herself is solidified not by sex but by being able to star at herself naked in the mirror and ee joy.