Emma Thompson’s Nude Scene in ‘Good Luck to You, Leo Grande’ Is A Revelation of Self-Love

Emma Thompson’s nude scene in Good Luck To You Leo Grande doesn’t come in the throes of passion. It’s not a voyeuristic peep of her stepping out of the shower. There’s no alcohol or partying involved. And it’s certainly not a punch line. Instead, it is simply this: Thompson’s character, deliberately and frankly, confronting her own naked body in the mirror. It’s the movie’s most powerful scene, and, indeed, in Thompson’s capable hands, it’s one of the best performances of the year.

Good Luck to You, Leo Grande, which began streaming on Hulu today, at times feels more like a play than a movie. Directed by Sophie Hyde and written by Katy Brand, the story follows an older woman, Nancy (Thompson), who hires a young male sex worker, Leo Grande (Daryl McCormack). Much of the movie is made up of Nancy and Leo simply conversing, in a frank manner, about sex, shame, and pleasure. Nancy confesses that she’s never had an orgasm. Her recently deceased husband spent 30 years simply “doing his business” on top of her, never once giving any thought to her pleasure. Nancy herself has never dared to do anything remotely wild in her life—until now.

During their first time together, Nancy is jittery and self-conscious, anxious and self-deprecating. Surely, she thinks, a young, sculpted man like Leo must be disgusted by her soft, aged body. Leo is patient, kind, and understanding in turn. He’s comfortable with bodies, sex, and pleasure in a way that Nancy can’t even fathom. Nancy later confesses to Leo that she’s always been ashamed of her body. “I’ve always been aware of what’s wrong with it,” she says, looking at herself (fully clothed) in the mirror. “Stubby thighs, fat tummy. Boobs come down to my navel now. My arms wobble.”

Leo replies that he, too, is ashamed of his body at times. He removes Nancy’s overshirt and forces herself to look at her bare arms, saying he wished she could see her own beauty. She averts her eyes, clearly unhappy. It makes it all the more impactful when she finally works up the courage to look—really look—at herself in the movie’s final scene.

After one last passionate session together, Nancy and Leo have parted ways. Nancy has finally had her first orgasm, not because of Leo, but because of herself. She’s finally given into pleasure completely, without judgment, for herself or others. After, she picks her scattered clothes up from her hotel room with a smile. Then she steps in front of the hotel room mirror, and, with a decisive tug, pulls off her white bathrobe.

Thompson’s eyes roam over her lumps, wrinkles, and rolls, assessing. Unlike her early confrontation with her reflection, she does not look away. It’s a body; it’s her body.  She places a critical hand on her stomach, but what starts out as a hateful judgment quickly transforms into a loving caress. She sinks her hand lower and indulges in a moment of pleasure. It’s a sort of freedom she’s never allowed herself to have before. The camera tightens on Thompson’s face as she smiles a small, private smile. In less than 30 seconds, Thompson brings Nancy from self-hate to self-love. It’s breathtaking.

Thompson has had a long and successful career full of many great performances—including and Academy Award—but this quiet revelation may just be one of her best. Good Luck to You, Leo Grande is hardly a typical Oscar-bait movie, but it’d be a shame if Thompson’s performance were overlooked in the upcoming award circuit. If you need more convincing that this moment is awards-worthy, simply read Thompson’s recent essay in Vogue, in which she described the experience of embodying Nancy. Because the movie was shot during COVID times, Thompson notes, “I couldn’t go off to a health spa and lose 20 pounds in anticipation of forthcoming nudity. I decided that my character Nancy wouldn’t have done that either, and so it was doubtless for the best.”

Thompson describes how Sophie Hyde, the director, joined her and McCormack during rehearsal naked, where they all had frank discussions about what they did and didn’t like about their bodies. “I don’t know if you’ve ever taken all your clothes off in front of a young person you don’t really know. Never assume anything,” writes Thompson, as charming on the page as she is on screen. “But if you haven’t, I’m here to tell you that it’s a little bit intimidating. Especially if you’re a post-menopausal woman in her sixties who’s recently eaten far too many Tunnock’s Tea Cakes owing to lockdown comfort-seeking, and the young person is in startlingly perfect shape owing to playing someone whose job requires them to be in perfect shape.”

But, like her character, Thompson went on a journey with her body while filming this movie. ” I had no idea how much I would learn about my attitude to my own body, to pleasure and to shame,” Thompson concludes. “How much I would laugh about the genuine silliness of so many of our responses to sexual pleasure, and how much I would cry about what is lost in life when it is repressed, ignored, and punished. I hope the film reaches as many people as possible and does the same for them.”