The Look of Love

GREAT MOVIES: Michaewl Winterbottom's The Look of Love (UK, 2013) -For his fourth feature collaboration with director Michael Winterbottom, Steve Coogan proposed a film about Paul Raymond, Britain's answer to Hugh Hefner and for a time its richest citizen, and the results impressively showcase this comic thesp's more dramatic side. As is often the case with biopics about highly public, driven entrepreneurs, "The Look of Love" feels somewhat superficial, but then, perhaps Raymond was most truly himself on the flashy surface. Ultimately achieving a degree of poignancy nonetheless, this vivid period whirlwind looks to be a slam-dunk in the U.K., but could require explanatory marketing from IFC, which picked up North American rights, and possibly ratings-minded cuts. 2013SUN. RATING: 9