Trivia:
The film's working title, The King of Soho, had to be dropped after the threat of legal action by Paul Raymond's son, Howard, who was already developing a project of the same name about his father's life. See more »
User Review
Author:
Rating: 8/10
Paul Raymond, the Grand Master of 70s pornography and the self
proclaimed King of Soho, is the central character in this biopic by
Michael Winterbottom, based on Paul Willets book, Men Only - and yet
Winterbottom's film is as much about the people around Paul Raymond as
it is about the man himself.
The film begins with Paul Raymond - played here by a superb Steve
Coogan - mourning the evident loss of his daughter Debbie, reflecting
on his life and relationship with her via an old video recording.
Hounded by the media outside his Mayfair penthouse he is a shadow of
what he once was, grey, tired, backlit. The film then flashes back to
the humble almost-beginnings of Paul Raymond, telling in turn each
significant phase of his life and success - from the era of the Raymond
Revue Bar and the notorious (but unsurprisingly successful) Pyjama
Nights theatre show right through to his later success with the Men
Only magazine.
Winterbottom and his production designers capture beautifully the
design aesthetic of the era - the penthouse flat, which Raymond brags
was designed for him by Ringo Starr, is particularly noteworthy - and
together with the excellently chosen soundtrack and crisp
cinematography capture a real sense of the colour and hedonism at the
heart of this man's life in the 1960s, 1970s and beyond. In fact the
style, design and structure of the film reminded me very much of both
Boogie Nights and Goodfellas.
Coogan is on top form, and while some people many see his performance
at Paul Raymond as just a pastiche of Alan Partridge, I for one don't.
For in the same way that the well known and well loved radio journalist
from Norwich is something of an alter ego for Coogan, the idea of Paul
Raymond himself is just an act, a face that the man wears for the
public (and often for his private life). From the outset when we
discover that his real name is Geoffrey Quinn we see a man who is
forever hiding behind something, keen to portray himself as something
very different to his real existence. His ignorance of both his
legitimate and illegitimate sons; his outwardly normal and happy
relationships with women(which both eventually break down); his
twisting of words and meaning to justify his business - here is a man
who spends his life stripping away the veneer of respectability in
public life with exhibitions of voyeurism and pornography and yet one
who keeps his own very private and personal existence hidden from view,
the only seemingly genuine emotion and touching moment when he watches
old video footage of his daughter. Despite the hordes of women, despite
the money, despite the power Paul Raymond never seems genuinely happy.
Everything is a mask for a hollowness that is only filled ultimately by
the presence of his daughter.
Imogen Poots pushes to the fore as Raymond's wayward daughter Debbie.
The film is as much about the destructive life she leads than that of
her father - in fact you could see her downfall as paying the price for
his father's sins. Encouraged into areas where she had no talent
(Imogen Poots off-key singing was at the same time humorous and tragic)
and tempted by the drugs and easy-to-sleazy lifestyle around her father
it is inevitable that it would be she who's fragility and delicacy is
torn apart. The only character for whom Paul Raymond feels any lasting
emotion is the one character he drives to the edge of destruction,
ultimately watching as she crashes and burns over the edge.
The actress plays the part masterfully and I choose the words
"fragility" and "delicacy" quite deliberately - she manages to never
loose that school girl naivety and innocence, even when playing Debbie
at a much older age. It's quite an affecting turn from Imogen Poots,
who's talent and beauty will surely mark her out as a very big star in
the future.
Other cast members are also effective - Chris Addison as the somewhat
slimy Tony Power; Anna Friel as Raymond's first wife Jean; Tamsin
Egerton as the club dancer with whom he runs off. There are also a
series of cameo performances from familiar faces that give this film a
genuinely British feel, of the like normally associated with older,
classic British movies. Perhaps it's the accompanying soundtrack and
design styles in play but this feels like The Italian Job, or Alfie; or
Blow-Up. Simon Dee wouldn't look out of place driving off in his sports
car with a blonde in the passenger seat (in fact there is something of
a homage to the credits of his 1960s TV show Dee Time in the film).
I was fortunate enough to see this at an advance screening of the film
at the Bradford International Film Festival, where the screenwriter
Matthew Greenhalgh fielded questions from the audience. Challenged
about the sexual politics of both the film and pornography in general
Greenhalgh seemed somewhat overwhelmed.
But this isn't a film about feminism, or the rights and wrongs of
pornography and its politics. The film-makers are showing us a
classical tale of rise and fall, and of how even someone who
essentially uses people for the pleasures of others can still have the
redeeming feature of love, even if he doesn't realise it until it is
far too late. This film is not just about Paul Raymond's life and
career but also about his relationship with his daughter and how she
was ultimately sacrificed to the lifestyle he chose. I'm sure there is
a film about the politics of pornography in this story but to have
entertained us with it wouldn't have been half as interesting - or
successful as I feel this film ultimately is.
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