Emma Thompson Charms Berlin With ‘Leo Grande,’ Speaks Candidly About Women Being ‘Brainwashed’ to Hate Their Bodies

variety.com:

Manori Ravindran International EditorEmma Thompson says the physicality of her performance in “Good Luck to You, Leo Grande” pushed her into uncharted waters as an actor learning to accept her body on screen.In the Sundance-premiering movie, which enjoys its European bow at the Berlinale on Saturday night, the British actor plays widow and former teacher Nancy, who has stepped outside her comfort zone for the first time in her life by hiring a sex worker, the titular Leo Grande (Daryl McCormack).Asked candidly during a Berlin press conference about a key scene where Nancy stands unmoving in front of a mirror, the 62 year old spoke passionately about the challenge of delivering an “untreated body” in a movie.“It was hard,” said Thompson solemnly. “This is homework for all of you.

We’re only used to seeing bodies that have, you know, been trained … I knew that Nancy wouldn’t go to the gym. She would have a normal body of a 62-year-old woman who’s had two children. “I can’t stand in front of a mirror like that.

If I stand in front of a mirror, I’ll always pull something in [or do] something. I can’t just stand there. Why would I do that?

It’s horrifying. But that’s the problem, isn’t it? Women have been brainwashed all our lives. That’s the fact of it. And everything that surrounds us reminds us how imperfect we are and how everything is wrong.