Good luck to you, Leo Grande
Directed by: Sophie Hyde
Written by: Katy Brand
Starring: Emma Thompson and Daryl McCormack
Before You Watch
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Before You Watch 〰️
When I was a kid,
I hated my body.
I was often the shortest and fattest kid in school, church and my family, and very aware of both all the time. When I hit puberty, this hatred was compounded by shame — definitely not helped by the conservative Christianity I was raised in which taught me to see my body as sinful — as my newly-large breasts started to get noticed and commented on by men of all ages.
I found myself wearing larger and larger clothes in an attempt to hide my body.
As I grew older, that self-hatred and shame affected my sexual identity — I shied away from sex in all its forms, especially masturbation and self-pleasure and exploration. This stunted me. Not only in the subsequent relationships that I would have with other people, but in the most important relationship, my relationship with myself. And it took me till the age of 26 to fully understand that sex is just another form of connection, and denying it for myself only served to further disconnect me from myself, and from seeing the beauty that my body held.
Questions to hold as you watch:
How did you view your body when you were younger?
How do you view it now?
After the Movie
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After the Movie 〰️
Emma Thompson is that rare actor who’s specificity makes her universal — she is both uniquely each character that she portrays on screen and yet also every character, every one of us.
Much has been said about her full-frontal nudity in “Good Luck to You, Leo Grande,” and many have called it brave and vulnerable. And yet what struck me as truly naked and brave was her raw performance as a woman who is so disembodied, so removed from herself, that she cannot feel sexual pleasure, either on her own or in the company of another.
Watching her claim her sexuality and her body, watching her own her experience fully and completely, seeing her revel in her pleasure and lose herself in it — is a masterclass in the language that sex gives all of us to uncover the intricate layers beneath our clothes and skin. To build our self-esteem without judgment.
We talk a lot about self-love in our society these days but it seems impossible to truly love ourselves unconditionally without loving our bodies enough to experience good sex.
Questions to reflect on after you watch:
What role does sex play in your life?
How has it helped you discover new ways of seeing your body and yourself?