The Look of Love (2013)

Directed by: Michael Winterbottom
Country: UK / USA

Movie Review: Winterbottom’s “The Look of Love” is a biopic of UK's strip club pioneer, publisher of soft porn-magazines, and visionary real estate entrepreneur, Paul Raymond, who would become Britain’s wealthiest man and celebrity, being constantly sought by the press. After his daughter’s death of a heroin overdose in 1992, he became less and less sociable. The way Winterbottom addressed the story didn’t please me, giving us relevant info mixed with not so crucial scenes, causing the film to drag for several moments. The structure in its backs and forwards seemed to tremble, reinforced by a character whose life didn’t show to be so interesting or worth much attention. The most curious fact in the film was Raymond’s ex-wife becoming his model for a magazine, many years after their separation. He also tried to turn his daughter, performed by Imogen Poots, into singer/producer of his most expensive show, but her lack of talent just wasn’t enough. Steve Coogan’s performance was good without being memorable, being its fourth appearance in Michael Winterbottom’s films, following “The Trip”, “Tristram Shandy”, and the superb “24 Hour Party People”. Uninvolving and lacking some artistic artifacts, which I attribute to the filmmaker’s aptitude for independent productions instead of this kind of biopics, “The Look of Love” revealed to be disappointingly weak considering the calibers of its main actor and director.