At the virtual Sundance Film Festival in January and then again in June, Emma Thompson made the press rounds for her lead role in Searchlight Pictures’ “Good Luck to You, Leo Grande.” As usual, Thompson completely wowed her way through the promotion of her winning little indie film, even with the expected media scrutiny on how “brave” she was to take on the role of her. (Male actors are rarely referred to as such when playing men in their sixties who are into sex.)
The performance, in which she plays a sharp-minded but body-insecure widow who hires a sensitive and confident male escort (Daryl McCormack) in a quest for many kinds of gratification, garnered Thompson some of the best reviews in history. a long and historic career. that has often led journalists to use phrases like “a long and storied career.” She is so good, so often. And yet, as 2023 approaches and voters cast their ballots, Thompson went from being a strong contender to a runner-up. What the hell happened?
“Big Leo” debuted on Hulu on June 17, 2022, with the kind of streaming debut that would normally disqualify a film from Academy Award contention. But in these COVID-ridden times, Searchlight sought and received an AMPAS waiver to allow the film to be eligible on the grounds that it would have had a theatrical release if not for the pandemic. So Thompson seemed, if you will, ready for the races.
But while the leading male names of summer movies like Austin Butler in “Elvis” and Tom Cruise in “Top Gun: Maverick” remained on the lips of pundits, acclaimed female-fronted stars have stumbled a bit to get that voters remember them. Remember how elated everyone seemed to be in mid-September over performances like Aubrey Plaza’s in “Emily the Criminal” and Mia Goth in “Pearl”? Both were lanky and sassy, but apparently not enough for the primetime version of awards season. (No offense, of course, to favorites like Michelle Yeoh and Cate Blanchett, as this is, finally!, a seemingly stronger year for female leads than males on screen.)
Thompson’s lack of enthusiasm is all the more disconcerting because while he’s refreshingly candid about sexual mores and female pleasure without any hint of lasciviousness, “Leo Grande” targets the “prestige” voter very firmly, especially one who would be Witness Thompson’s performance over the span of her career and note that she’s not repeating herself or downplaying this sometimes rigid character. Or one who, like this viewer, wiped away tears after the film’s conclusion, where Thompson’s Nancy Stokes aka Susan Robinson finally finds the truest form of self-acceptance in a little internalized victory lap in front of a mirror.
It wouldn’t be the first time Thompson has strangely stepped out of the Oscars conversation after a bold start; It’s still shocking to remember that she wasn’t nominated for her brash “Mary Poppins” author PL Travers in 2013’s “Saving Mr. Banks,” or 10 years before that (despite what recent ABC reunion specials make you believe about a 2003 movie). film) for his now-classic Joni Mitchell-infused breakup scene in “Love Actually,” a sequence often cited even by the film’s detractors as its most poignant.
Yes, he already has two Oscars at home (and the famous one in the toilet): one for his searing Margaret Schlegel in the 1992 Merchant-Ivory classic “Howards End,” and another for his brilliant, digestible adapted screenplay for the film’s version. 1995 by Ang Lee. from “Sense and Sensibility” by Jane Austen. It may be that Thompson possesses that often-taken-for-granted quality that has often happened to icons like her “Angels in America” co-star Meryl Streep, who once joked that she has not only garnered more Oscar nominations than anyone else in the story, but probably lost more Oscars.
Thompson managed to sneak into the musical/comedy career at the Golden Globes. (“Big Leo” is definitely more dramatic, but you get sidetracked…) But why don’t we hear his name more when we’re in the deep end of the world? awards quagmire from pre-Oscar nominations, when surprises are still very much possible? It’s not that Searchlight Pictures has traditionally been left behind in promoting big Best Actress contenders: Four of the last five Best Actress Oscar winners have come from Searchlight Pictures, an impressive statistic.
Maybe Netflix will give Thompson a strong late push for “Matilda the Musical” given its encouraging early buzz and its Miss Trunchbull being a very obvious visual transformation? (Oscar voters still love them; it worked for Jessica Chastain last year.)
Perhaps viewers thought Thompson frolicking naked with McCormack was reward enough? (Just kidding… or maybe not?)
Or that she possesses that everlasting Goddess-level freshness of someone like, say, Dolly Parton, also somewhat underappreciated at industry awards despite the fact that the woman is a musical genius and basically kicked in the vaccine money to save all of our lives.
As Thompson’s Nancy says at one point in “Big Leo”: It’s quite an education.
