PSYCHOLOGY|MENTAL HEALTH

Watching Emma Thompson Perform Naked at 63 Gave Me Hope for Women

It’s one of the bravest things I’ve ever seen a highly-respected actress do. My whole body beams every time I think about it.

It was a fairly normal day during my month-long stay in Philadelphia. I was visiting friends and family for the first time since I moved to Europe a little more than two years prior.

I opted to rent an apartment instead of staying with anyone to have my own time and space to recharge at the end of each day. I wanted complete control of my home-awa-from-home and privacy.

This was an essential piece that allowed the events to unfold in the ways they did that fated night in December.

I was supposed to spend time with a friend who got sick at the last minute. I was still getting over being sick for over a week and was grateful to have a big, comfortable bed with a nice television at the foot.

After making a cup of my favorite tea, I clicked on the television and began scrolling through movie options. I rarely watch movies by myself. I prefer to read, write, or talk on the phone during my free time alone.

My boyfriend and I usually decide on movies together, which made everything that night feel even more decadent. I could be as selfish as I wanted without feeling like I was imposing my will on him.

When I saw the image for the film Good Luck to You, Leo Grande, I looked at it quizzically and wondered if that was really Emma Thompson featured in the movie. She was sitting on the ground next to a very attractive man, and they were both in their underwear.

It was, in fact, Emma Thompson, and I was thoroughly intrigued, especially after reading the film’s summary.

In “Good Luck To You, Leo Grande,” two-time Academy Award® winner Emma Thompson embodies the candor and apprehension of retired teacher Nancy Stokes, and newcomer Daryl McCormack personifies the charisma and compassion of sex worker Leo Grande. As Nancy embarks on a post-marital sexual awakening and Leo draws on his skills and charm, together they find a surprising human connection.

Despite the description, I had no idea that Emma Thompson would show full-frontal nudity. I did not think an actress of her caliber, and quite frankly, an actress her age would do such a thing.

It ended up being the absolute highlight of the film for me.

***Spoiler alert***

This story is not a film review, which I highly recommend that everyone sees. I am about to go into why the film, in particular, the scene where Thompson is completely and utterly naked in every sense of the word, made such a lasting impact on me.

It is clear at the film’s beginning that Thompson’s character was very shy and uncomfortable with her body, let alone the sexual expression of it. She wanted to get over this and there were serious doubts about whether she would.

However, by the movie’s end, she transformed into this woman who looked at herself fully naked in a large, full-length mirror while caressing her full belly and hips, and she smiled.

Not only did her lips smile this beautiful, sexy, kind, and loving smile, but her eyes smiled as well. All of her shined in the simplest yet profound ways.

I was beaming!

I had never seen anything like it on screen before. An older woman who was by herself, staring at herself naked in the mirror, loving it, genuinely and sweetly.

I think that this scene took place after she masturbated alone in a room, which was something new to her as well. I could hardly believe my eyes. I wish that these kinds of stories weren’t so rare.

Witnessing a woman’s full acceptance, love, and satisfaction for herself and by herself is something I never thought I’d see portrayed in the ways I did during this film, especially by such a remarkable actress.

It was bloody brilliant and brought tears to my eyes.

It gave me hope for women everywhere.

Once the movie ended, I immediately looked up articles to learn what it was like for Emma Thompson to play that role and why she chose to do so.

It made me admire and respect her as an actress even more, and appreciate her deeply as a woman.

One of my favorite articles about it was published in The New York Times.

If “you want the iconography of the female body to change, then you better be part of the change.”

-Emma Thompson

Watching Thompson perform stark naked at 63 years old, and reading about her experience in doing so, filled me with tears of gratitude and joy.

It changed me for the better forever because I feel less alone, especially as I see my 50th birthday soon approaching, in my continuous journey of self-love and discovery despite the constant bombardment from people and systems who consistently fight to suppress women in some way.

I thought of us existing as we are instead of trying to conform as part of a norm to fit in somewhere, somehow, in some way, someday.

What would it be like if the majority of women truly loved themselves and took our pleasure and satisfaction into our own hands regularly instead of making these things a low priority, like too many tend to do?

The day I watched that film is one I will never forget.

It reminded me how many women struggle with our basic and natural desires, such as simply having an orgasm, let alone exploring our sexuality in comfortable and safe places, emotionally, mentally, and physically.

It reminded me that these issues of self-acceptance, love, and gratitude affect all of us, young through old, and is a journey, not a destination.

Most importantly, it helped me remember that there is still much that I can and want to do in support of these issues, in support of us.

I hope that whoever you are, wherever you are, you will support us too, in your own way, today.