It culminates with a full-frontal nude scene which has been called “brave”. But that’s not what it is.
It’s a scene that isn’t specifically a spoiler. Leo Grande is a movie that is very much about the journey and not the destination, even though it is the finale of the movie Good Luck to You.
In this scene, Nancy, played by Emma Thompson, examines her complete naked body in a full-length mirror. She gives it some serious thought for a while and then appears satisfied.
Her assessment of her physique is about much more than just whether she “likes” what she sees.
When Leo opened me, I realized I was portraying a character who was seeing herself for the first time. During a Good Luck Q&A, Thompson stated, “She’s able to look at herself with what I would describe as a neutral stare.
to Leo Grande, please.
She isn’t saying, “Wow, I truly love myself now. Not the journey at all. That’s Hollywood romance, folks.
All the best to you, Hollywood is Leo Grande, but not in the traditional sense of flawless bodies and simple happy endings. The film, which tells the tale of a widow who hires a sex worker to help her experience pleasure, is a subtle, considerate, and sympathetic portrayal of the complexity of female sexuality and desire.
And in many ways, the last scene embodies the film’s spirit. It’s a proclamation that bodies serve many different purposes and are not just for visual perception.
Her character’s acceptance of who she is permitted to be, rather than how she appears, is conveyed by the position Thompson picks for her character, which was influenced by medieval images of Adam and Eve.
The reason we don’t stand in front of the mirror in a calm manner, according to Thompson, is because we have all been objectified and objectify ourselves in the most unpleasant, cruel, and pointless ways.
“How then is she able to look at herself? I recoiled and offered her a brief glimpse of my complete sincerity. Her hand lowering reveals that she is still, excited, and that her entire body is alive. She had never before gone inside her body. She has never viewed it in that way.
God willing, each of us will get the chance to do it in our lives.
The decision to include a sequence in which a 63-year-old female performer bares all has been dubbed many things, but the word “brave” appears to be cropping up frequently in the discussion.
The term “brave” carries a multitude of connotations.
According to filmmaker Sophie Hyde, “the term brave in that instance implies that she should be ashamed of her body or that there is something to conquer, to be brave about.”
“When referring to someone with what we refer to as the ideal body, we don’t say that. Emma’s physique appears untreated on television. Just so accustomed to seeing something different.
I don’t want to imply that she lacked bravery because we all know that doing that is still seen to be ‘brave’ in our society.
It’s an extremely emotional moment that’s packed with emotion. Yes, it attracts attention. Compared to a few years ago, the response is better now.
If you ignore how loaded the word is, there’s a lot about Good Luck to You, Leo Grande that could be called “brave.” There are numerous sexual encounters between Daryl McCormack’s character, played by Leo, and Thompson’s character, performed by Thompson.
But it never gets explicit. Instead, it’s erotic and sensual. Every lingering frame has a character purpose, and its explicit encounters are always based on permission. It also never abuses the body for mere aesthetic titillation.
Thompson expressed her complete trust in Hyde’s ability to handle the private moments with “compassion, discretion, and taste.” Perhaps for this reason, the movie is decidedly un-Hollywood.
These unvarnished depictions of Thompson and McCormack’s bodies, according to Hyde, also speak to how we view our bodies in both our on- and off-screen lives.
She remarked, “With Nancy, I saw a character who had settled into what she was, what was expected of her, and she had never really questioned much about her life or her ideas. And she repeated, without questioning, what was expected of her as a religious education teacher in terms of following that curriculum.
“When we act that way, it’s risky. However, it’s fairly exciting because she decided to do something at the beginning of the movie that would truly challenge who she is and will challenge her.
her as a person.
She complies with Leo’s numerous challenges and provocations throughout the movie, which help her find something.
Underneath all of that is this thing we’ve done to women—possibly to everyone, but especially to those of us who have been raised as women—which is this guilt about our bodies. that they are never adequate and that our bodies will never meet a standard.
“That way our bodies appear to others is the most crucial aspect of our bodies.
“How much more shameful could we be than to suggest that the most important aspect of something that keeps us alive, brings us joy, and provides for you is how it looks. We say that to everyone, including our children, others in our immediate vicinity, and ourselves.
What an utter waste of time and effort. Sexual shame follows this first shame. We are surrounded by a culture that promotes it. So we must make a sincere effort to remain outside of it.
