On general release, Fri 8 March
Michael Winterbottom / UK/USA / 2013 / 101 min
On the face of it, The Look of Love might seem like a straightforward reunion of Michael Winterbottom and Steve Coogan from their time on The Trip. In many ways, the director’s latest film on the life and times of English club owner Paul Raymond (Coogan) comes across that way, but also recalls Winterbottom’s flair for documenting British scenes, trends and scandals with strong emphasis on romance.
Of the many items which intrigue about Raymond’s life, notably bookended by his humble origins and reclusive later life, little is excavated. Coogan struggles to shake off the anorak awkwardness of Partridge in the same way Gervais will forever have people shouting “oi Brent!” at him. Consequently, he squirms in the role and doesn’t live up to the odd seedy prestige that the ‘King of Soho’ infers. That aside, the tragedy that Raymond invested so much time and effort in a controversial business – if you consider the “trading” of flesh to be business – and not enough in his daughter’s life (who overdosed in 1992), resonates with an audience. Despite the smoky lecherousness of strip clubs and bars, coupled with plenty sexcapades, this subplot pulls Winterbottom away from mere titillation. So regardless of which side of this film you wish to accredit, it’s both a cheap porn-movie and a complex deconstruction of intimate relationships.