Sundance: Oscar winner Emma Thompson (“Howard’s End”) has always been an uncommonly fine actress, whether she was the painfully restrained but deeply caring housemistress in “Remains of the Day” or the painfully restrained but deeply caring Elinor Dashwood in “Sense and Sensibility” (she also got an Oscar for writing the screenplay). You may know her as Nanny McPhee. or as the Baroness in “Cruella.”

Now she’s gone and done something quite extraordinary. At the age of 61, Thompson appears naked in more ways than one in Sophie Hyde’s “Good Luck to You, Leo Grande.” The movie is “written and created by” Katy Brand, who appeared in the “Nanny McPhee” sequel in 2010 and must be a friend of Thompson. (This movie has strange credits, by the way).

You’d almost think that “Leo Grande” is an adapted play. But it’s not. It’s an original, very original in fact, in its whole execution. I’m not sure how it will get away with an R rating, but who cares? This much is certain: Thompson will be heaped on with awards in 2023. So get ready.

Thompson plays “Nancy” (not her real name), a widow and retired school teacher who hires “Leo” (not his real name) for sexual instruction. They meet in a hotel. Leo is played Daryl McCormack, who looks a little goofy in real life but a hot hombre in the film. He’s going to help Nancy have her first orgasm ever and enjoy her body for the first time in her life.

The conversation between Nancy and Leo is frank and modern. And as Nancy peels off clothes, she also peels herself off like an onion. In doing so, she also seeks to find Leo’s layers, so when they’re not naked and having sex (a glut of which comes at the end of the film) they are finding out important stuff about each other.

Thompson is brave– not because she’s fully unclothed without help from the makeup or props department. Her courage is in allowing herself, an Oscar and Emmy winner with lots of other accolades, explore an intimate world we don’t see in films nowadays. She was one of Mike Nichols’ favorite actresses, and you can see why. She’s willing to plumb depths of her soul.

Other reviews I’ve glanced at talk about this movie being “sex positive” which is lingo for 2022. Brand reaches some nice conclusions and resolutions, the kind you won’t see on Lifetime or Hallmark. “Leo Grande” may shake up the landscape when it finally gets released. In the old days Miramax would have picked this up and gotten Oscar nods for everyone involved. LionsGate has it in the UK. I’m curious to see what happens in the U.S.

PS This is a total aside, but Sundance is brimming with terrific performances by actresses directed by women director. Case in point: Elizabeth Banks in “Call Jane.” More on that in my next piece.

You will want to become a vegetarian after watching “Fresh.” Or should I say, “Flesh.” This is a horror movie that is pretty disgusting, not terribly clever, but one that Disney- yes, Disney– will release this year.

Premiering at the Sundance Film Festival, Mimi Cave’s “Fresh” is a movie about cannibalism. Yes, cannibalism, the eating of people. Yes, Disney. It’s not a parody or a satire like “Get Out.” It’s a straight up horror film about a charming doctor, played by Sebastian Stan, who seduces women, kidnaps them, and carves out pieces of them for sale to high paying customers. Eventually, they’re all carved up and dead.

Written by Lauryn Kahn, I guess “Fresh” is supposed to be hip. It’s way too hip for me, that’s for sure. (Hip may be on Dr. Steve’s menu.) Disney will release it not on DisneyPlus but on Hulu, and try and distance their brand name. But it’s Disney, folks, nonetheless.

Plodding along the lines of “Get Out” and “Parasite,” “Fresh” may considered hip because a woman wrote it and another one directed it. But women can make the same mistakes as men. Just because you’ve got a good cinematographer and production designer doesn’t mean you’ve got a good movie.

At his country house, Steve has imprisoned other women when he brings Noa (two by two?) to his lair. She wakes up drugged and chained in a room, where Steve explains how he’ll be carving her up. And he does. From different women he’s taken pieces of their posterior, legs, and other body parts. We get to see interspersed scenes of Steve’s rich, fat customers chowing down on his victims. At one point, he invites Noa to have one of his gourmet meals, and they discuss which part came from which girl.

(Is this a sly comment on veganism vs. carnivores? I doubt it, and the intent isn’t there for satire.)

All that saves the film is the casting. Noa is played Daisy Edgar Jones, who comes mostly from TV and is very appealing. Noa’s best friend is Mollie, played by Jojo T. Gibbs, and she makes an impressive movie debut. Dr. Steve is none other than Marvel’s Bucky Barnes, Sebastian Stan, who is not getting good advice on film roles– he should not have done this. But maybe it’s part of his Disney-Marvel deal.

Of course the whole thing ends up with a bloody climax and denouement. Cave manages to ratchet up the tension and drama, but nothing here is as sophisticated as they think it is. There is a slight twist when Mollie meets Steve’s family, but I’ll leave that unspoiled here in case you see “Fresh.”

I’m bewildered by this turn for Searchlight, the studio of “Nomadland” and “The Shape of Water,” and so many wonderful films. I can’t image the former stewards of this studio wanting this on their resume. But horror is cheap, and it’s ‘in’.