''The Look of Love'' is a 2013 British biopic of Paul Raymond, directed by

Michael Winterbottom Michael Winterbottom (born 29 March 1961) is an English film director. He began his career working in British television before moving into features. Three of his films—''Welcome to Sarajevo'', ''Wonderland'' and ''24 Hour Party People''—h ...

. It stars Steve Coogan as Raymond. The film was released in the United Kingdom on 26 April 2013.

Plot

The story opens in London in 1992. Paul Raymond returns to his flat, after attending the funeral of his daughter, Debbie. Raymond plays a videotape of a television programme he and Debbie took part in, and reflects on their lives. In a flashback to the end of the 1950s, Raymond is an impresario, on the seaside variety show circuit, where he is making a name for himself, by adding semi nude women to his stage acts. After a lion attacks the show's dancers, his wife Jean joins the show. When the '' Daily Sketch'' claims that Jean performed nude, Raymond sues the newspaper unsuccessfully, but appreciates the ensuing publicity, after which Raymond launches his strip club in London, the

Raymond Revue Bar The Raymond Revuebar (1958–2004) was a theatre and strip club at 11 Walker's Court (now the location of The Box Soho nightclub), in the centre of London's Soho district. For many years, it was the only venue in London that offered full-fronta ...

. Its success allows him to expand his property empire, and also indulge in a playboy lifestyle, which his wife tolerates. In the beginning of the 1970s, Raymond moves into theatrical revues, and casts aspiring actress Amber St. George in a nude revue. Raymond moves in with her, and his marriage to Jean ends. Raymond also agrees to meet a grown son, Derry, he sired out of wedlock, but after an awkward dinner together, he gives Derry no more of his time. Tony Power is approached by Paul Raymond to run a new men's magazine, ''

Men Only ''Men Only'' is a British magazine title that originated in 1935 as a pocket-sized men's magazine. It became a standard-sized pin-up magazine in the 1950s and was relaunched in 1971 by Paul Raymond Publications as a soft-core pornographic maga ...

''. Tony Power, who was only in his 20s at the time, was subsequently corrupted into a sleazy world by Paul Raymond, ending in his untimely demise. The magazine is a huge success, in part thanks to roving ''sex reporter''

Fiona Richmond Fiona Richmond (born 2 March 1945) is an English former glamour model and actress. She became a British sex symbol in the 1970s for her appearances in numerous risqué plays, comedy revues, magazines and films. She has been described as one of ...

, the

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...

of St. George. Raymond continues to enjoy a hedonistic, coke fuelled lifestyle. This becomes too much for St. George, and their relationship ends. Into this mix, his daughter Debbie is introduced. Initially, Raymond tries to make her a star in his theatrical ventures, but she lacks talent, and the show is an unprecedented failure for her. Debbie marries musician Jonathan Hodge. Jean returns for the wedding, and volunteers to pose nude for Raymond's magazine. In the delivery room, Debbie gives birth to a girl, after sniffing a line of coke, that her father provides. She dies in 1992, of a heroin overdose. After the funeral, Raymond returns home with his granddaughter, pointing out the property he owns that will someday belong to her. An epilogue reveals that in December 1992, he was the richest man in Britain.

Cast

Production history

''The Look of Love'' was originally called ''The King of Soho'', until that title had to be dropped due to a legal dispute.

Critical response

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

, the film has an approval rating of 54%, based on reviews from 74 critics, with an average score of 5.7 out of 10. The site's consensus reads: "While it may not add up to the definitive Paul Raymond biopic -- or take full advantage of Steve Coogan's many gifts -- ''The Look of Love'' still proves an entertainingly old fashioned look at the Swinging London of the 1960s." On

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...

, it has a score of 57 out of 100, based on reviews from 20 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Dennis Harvey of ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' wrote: "Michael Winterbottom and Steve Coogan's fourth feature collaboration is a vivid period whirlwind, that impressively showcases the comic thesp's more dramatic side." Peter Bradshaw of ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' called it "a shallow, but watchable movie" and gave it three out of five stars. When the film was released in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, it opened on #7, with £208,557.

Imogen Poots Imogen Gay Poots (born 3 June 1989) is an English actress and model. She played Tammy in the post-apocalyptic horror film ''28 Weeks Later'' (2007), Linda Keith in the Jimi Hendrix biopic '' Jimi: All Is by My Side'' (2013), Debbie Raymond in ...

was featured on the inaugural longlist of the ''Guardian Film Awards'', nominated for Best Supporting Actor, in January 2014.

References

External links

Official Facebook page
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Look Of Love, The 2013 films 2013 biographical drama films British biographical drama films 2010s English-language films Films about adult magazine publishers (people) Cultural depictions of publishers Cultural depictions of British men Film4 Productions films Films directed by Michael Winterbottom Films set in London Films set in the 1960s Films set in the 1970s Films set in the 1980s 2010s British films