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The Look Of Love Review

Very Good

Michael Winterbottom vividly recreates swinging 1960s London in this biopic about one of Soho's most notorious figures. It's a lively and attention-grabbing film, but the cast and filmmakers never create a character we can identify with or care about, which leaves the film feeling a bit meaningless. And even if we're interested in the history, we are never able to feel the emotions.

As he did for Winterbottom in 24 Hour Party People, Steve Coogan plays a colourful real-life figure, this time Paul Raymond, also known as the King of Soho. Raymond made his fortune through strip clubs and lap-dancing venues, then expanded into publishing men's magazines before purchasing large swathes of property in London's artiest district. But his marriage to Jean (Friel) was strained by his rampant womanising, including a long-term relationship with actress-model Fiona Richmond (Egerton). And the main woman in Paul's life was his daughter Debbie (Poots), who was in line to inherit his fortune when she died of a heroin overdose in 1992.

The film is framed with Debbie's funeral, showing Raymond at his lowest point. But then, even when he was living the high life, his self-obsession casts a heavy shadow. Everyone in this story is just as lost in their own addictions. And it's sad to see Raymond himself never able to move on from his own early years, amassing a £1 billion fortune, which he left to Debbie's children when he died in 2008. Coogan bravely never tries to get us to sympathise with Raymond, delivering a focussed performance that's darkly bittersweet. Poots adeptly captures Debbie's inability to see her own talents as she falls into a whirlwind of drug abuse. And Friel and Egerton get the most engaging roles as woman thrown aside along the way.

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Steve Coogan, Anna Friel And Tamsin Egerton Glam Up Soho Premiere Of 'The Look Of Love' (Photos)

By Holly Williams in Movies / TV / Theatre on 16 April 2013

Steve Coogan Anna Friel Tamsin Egerton Chris Addison James Lance Michael Winterbottom

Paul Raymond biopic 'The Look of Love' premieres at London's Curzon Soho in style.

Steve Coogan, Chris Addison and Imogen Poots party hard in 'The Look of Love'

Upcoming biopic 'The Look of Love' based on the life of glamour entrepreneur Paul Raymond hit London yesterday (April 15th 2013) in its premiere with all the pizazz that Soho could offer.

'Alan Partridge' star Steve Coogan still seemed a little in character, shunning a tie and opting for an eye-catching shirt with several top buttons undone when he hit the red carpet at the Curzon Soho in London alongside his glamorous co-stars Anna Friel and Tamsin Egerton who play his onscreen wife and daughter respectively. While Anna was positively glowing in her ankle length yellow and gold dress that certainly matched up to the glorious English Springtime, Tamsin opted for a white, long-sleeved, floor-length number that flattered her elegant frame. Former 'Mock The Week' host Chris Addison and current host Dara O'Briain also made appearances on the red carpet having both featured in the biographical comedy, as well as 'Boy Meets Girl' star James Lance who played Raymond's business associate Carl Snitcher in the movie.

Continue reading: Steve Coogan, Anna Friel And Tamsin Egerton Glam Up Soho Premiere Of 'The Look Of Love' (Photos)

Steve Coogan Stuns As Porn Mogul Paul Raymond In 'The Look Of Love' (Trailer)

By Michael West in Movies / TV / Theatre on 13 March 2013

Steve Coogan Stephen Fry Chris Addison Anna Friel

Steve Coogan stars as Paul Raymond in Michael Winterbottom's 'The Look Of Love'

'The Look of Love' trailer appears to suggest Steve Coogan turns in one of his very best performances, as Paul Raymond, the porn mogul and once the UK's wealthiest man. Michael Winterbottom's new movie, which won acclaim at the Sundance Film Festival in January, follows Raymond's rise from mind-reader on Clacton Pier to the 'King of Soho.' Whilst his empire grew, his family life began to suffer, and the trailer for 'The Look of Love' hints at turmoil, scandal and lies.

Winterbottom's movie follows Raymond as he opens new clubs across the entertainment district of London and publishes men's magazines 'Razzle' 'Mayfair' and 'Men's Only,' though things begin to unravel when he embarks on a whirlwind affair with a young star despite being married to Jean, one of his strippers.

Continue reading: Steve Coogan Stuns As Porn Mogul Paul Raymond In 'The Look Of Love' (Trailer)

Look Of Love Trailer

Paul Raymond became the wealthiest man in the UK when he opened the country's first strip club, the Raymond Revue bar, after starting out his nightlife career as a mind-reader cabaret performer. When the bar became highly successful among gentlemen everywhere, his risqué empire only grew into various men's magazines including 'Men's Only', 'Razzle' and 'Mayfair' not to mention spawning various new clubs across the entertainment district of London, Soho, earning him the nickname 'King of Soho'. Though, while loved and admired by thousands, he was also scorned in other circles and even his family began to suffer from the effects of his billion pound industry. His marriage to one of his strippers, Jean, did not meet an amicable end as he embarked on a whirlwind affair with a younger star, and his previously close bond with his daughter Debbie whom he loved more than anything in the world, was broken after her sudden death at the tender age of 36. This is the story of the triumphs and turmoil of Britain's richest man.

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