Meine Stunden mit Leo

Why did I have to stumble upon this movie on Prime instead of seeing critics tout it on their platforms? A bravura performance by Emma Thompson in a 'small' character-driven movie that makes every superhero or thriller film look amateurish by comparison. Maybe I'm just partial to intelligent dialogue and rational, original plots. I have to wonder what Thompson's thought process was in deciding to take on this role. It can't have been easy for her, at age 63. Courageous! Daryl McCormack turns in an outstanding performance as a sex worker whose gentle professionalism and sensitivity is meant to set the retired teacher at ease. Highly recommended!

A widow 'of a certain age', Nancy (not her real name) books a hotel room and a fit young sex worker, Leo Grande (not his real name). Nancy never had an orgasm during thirty-one years of married life, so she has some catching up to do.

Emma Thompson's performance and Katy Brand's crisp script convey very believably the awkwardness and nervousness Nancy feels. Take out the sex and nudity (please don't!) and this could have been written by Terence Rattigan to be played by Deborah Carr back in the 1950s. There is a degree of theatricality to the film, although Thompson gives her all and courageously bares her all.

Daryl McCormack matches Thompson for both bravura and skill as the young escort who's not as self-confident as he pretends. More explicit even than Netflix's SEX EDUCATION, this is not a movie for porn perverts, it's a serious study of desire, disappointment and desperation. Both its stars deserve to pick up awards next winter.

This movie is at its best when the two leads are talking and revealing their innermost selves to each other. The acting is very good, the writing generally good with sensitive direction.

There are some points that are questionable though. It feels like a play and not a cinematic experience with the action taking place in one room. Emma Thompson blurting everything out at the waitress at the end felt ridiculous. And lastly, if you reverse the sex of the roles, is it still valid or just tawdry?

So well acted. In the hands of clumsy performers, this script would be horrifying. But it wasn't and so it isn't. When we want sex there are always other hungers, other flavors that we desire. A widow seeks adventure, a sex worker seeks affirmation, perhaps praise that was never freely given. All in all a "feel good" movie in more ways than one.

Emma Thompson gives a very brave performance as a repressed sixtyish widow who decides to hire a professional escort to make up for the unfulfilling sex life she had when she was married. Fueled by Thompson's spiky intelligence and keen timing, it quickly moves from a comic exploration of female sexuality into an honest depiction of self-love and what prevents us from getting there. That dynamic also includes the escort (portrayed with polished compassion by Daryl McCormack) who unapologetically does his job on regular time-stamped appointments. Except for the appearance of a minor character late in the movie, this is a two-hander (sort of speak) that runs only 97 minutes. However. Katy Brand's perceptive screenplay and Sophie Hyde's sensitive direction manage the brevity with ease by highlighting the two stellar performances at the movie's core.