In the biopic The Look of Love, Steve Coogan plays porn king Paul Raymond, once Britain’s richest man. Raymond turned a tawdry row of Soho strip clubs into an empire of smut magazines. (Sharing a $500 million fortune, Raymond’s two granddaughters are the youngest of Britain’s 100 richest women.)
Now here’s the problem with the movie – Raymond’s life has many aspects – each worthy of a movie in its own right – including his business ascent, his gift for publicity and his marriage to and divorce from his ex-wife Jean. Most singular is his indifferent relationship with his two sons, contrasted with his affection for his anointed successor and heir, his daughter Debbie; not every guy aspires to apprentice his daughter in the porn industry. The Look of Love touches on them all, but doesn’t delve deeply enough into any one.
Imogen Poots (Solitary Man, Greetings from Tim Buckley) has the most interesting character of Debbie, but there’s not enough of her. Still, what IS contained in The Look of Love makes for an interesting story hitherto unfamiliar to us non-Brits.
The Look of Love is streaming on Amazon, iTunes, Sundance Now and other VOD outlets.