Emma Thompson was among the star attractions over the weekend at the Berlinale, bringing her trademark energy and wit to a festival that, due to the restrictions put in place by the coronavirus pandemic, had felt rather subdued.
In town with the Sundance-bowing drama Good Luck to You, Leo Grande, in which she plays a retired widow who hires a sex worker (played by newcomer Daryl McCormack), she spoke candidly during the festival press conference about stepping outside her comfort zone for the role, in particular for a key scene towards the end where she stands naked in front of a mirror looking at her body.
“If I stand in front of a mirror, I’m always sort of pulling something, or I’ll turn to the side, I’ll do something. I can’t just stand there. Why would I do that, it’s horrifying,” said the 61-year-old, noting that people weren’t used to seeing “untreated bodies” on screen. “But that’s the problem, isn’t it, that women have been brainwashed all lives to hate our bodies. That’s just the fact. And everything that surrounds us reminds us how imperfect we are, and everything is wrong with us.”
Thompson urged the people in the room to try standing in front of a mirror and not move, to “just accept” and “not judge” what they see. “It’s the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do,” she said. “So I really did something I’ve never done as an actor.”
In Good Luck to You, Leo Grande, Thompson’s character Nancy hopes to fulfil unfilled sexual gratification having not experienced an orgasm her entire life, something that the actress said didn’t feel remotely unrealistic for women.
“It’s not considered important that we have pleasure,” she said. “I’m sure I’ve met people who’ve had that experience. Some of the young women I know say they were 30 when they first experienced it. But I don’t think we talk about it, and I also think we’re kind of dishonest about it.”
Source: Hollywood
