The life of Paul Raymond, the controversial entrepreneur who became Britain's richest man.
Regardless of which side of this film you wish to accredit, it’s both a cheap porn-movie and a complex deconstruction of intimate relationships.
A clear precursor to this film is Milos Forman’s The People vs. Larry Flynt, but the depth and ambiguity that film brought to its amiable monster of a protagonist just doesn’t kick in here.
It plays like an enjoyable but one-dimensional comedy skit.
Perhaps the real problem is that Raymond lacked real substance and judgment as a man, and the film is almost too faithful in mirroring this.
While Coogan (and the rest of the cast) work hard to bring more than dodgy haircuts and leery behaviour to the table – there’s one great scene between Raymond and an illegitimate son that says much about what a contradictory arse he probably was – The Look of Love remains skin deep.
The picture never establishes a strong case for why we should be interested in him or what his story has to say beyond being a straightforward cautionary tale.
This is a shallow but watchable movie, and it nicely conveys the world of semi-respectable Soho porn, sadder and tattier than its sleazier end, with its desperate champagne lunches and dreary afternoon hangovers.
The film sometimes seems evasive, glossing over the exploitative side of Raymond's business. It isn't as polished as might have been expected.
This one, smirkily flaunting the tackiness and sheer non-movie-ness of its subject, is a bit on the flaccid side.
A wilfully myopic biopic.
A solid, straightforward biopic about a fascinating individual and his destructive relationships, with strong performances and a healthy sense of naffness.
The film seems to have been replaced by a compendium of five-minute standalone scenes.
The movie lacks the wit, the insight and the detail of Members Only, the well-researched biography of Raymond by Paul Willetts on which it is based.
Maybe Raymond really was as shallow as Winterbottom's gossipy romp, but surely he must have had some views on pornography and feminism, as well as some flair and ambition as a businessman. The Look of Love implies that he became Britain's richest man by accident.
Steve Coogan is the King of Comedy in The Look of Love
'Someone had to do it'--Steve Coogan admits to strip club research for The Look of Love
General release. Check local listings for show times.
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