Review of The Look of Love (2013) by Thomas W — 23 Mar 2014

Biopic of the entrepreneur Paul Raymond, the richest man in the UK of his time, he owned loads of real state but he was famous for his Soho shows and his erotic magazines that were borderline pornography. The movie walk us swiftly through his mature years, once he is already a notorious person, we get to see first his marriage to wife Jean, his consented serial cheating with multiple girls until he meets his muse and mistress, Fiona. Divorce and financial success follows, but the last half of the movie tell us of his complex relationship with his daughter Debbie. She tried to follow her father's footsteps into show business but she wasn't talented enough and she kept crashing financially and personally next to the tall shadow of her father, her failures would lead her to drug abuse and eventually to an early grave by overdose.

Interesting biography of a remarkable man, Coogan excels at portraying him; he really looks like the real Paul Raymond. However it is a joint effort of a solid direction and good acting that makes this movie worth watching. It is also the twisted father-daughter relationship, at the end of the day you don't get to see many women sniffing cocaine while they are giving birth, but surely you will never expect her father to provide her with the substance on the spot. The movie also gives a good insight into the show business of the 60's, 70's and 80's, glamour girls and the night life of Soho.