“The Look of Love”
Aside from the anticipated film about his alter ego Alan Partridge, Steve Coogan has been busy with a biopic about the “King of Soho” Paul Raymond. A lot of drama made up Raymond’s life and it’s a lot to squeeze into one film. From early in his career the film follows him from small time variety acts to part publishing mogul part porn emperor and one of Britain’s richest persons.
Some of the more intense aspects of his rise to fame and money were left out by director Michael Winterbottom and writer Matt Greenhalgh; lawsuits relating to his businesses and Raymond’s ruthless personality traits. He has three main women in his life: daughter Debbie (Imogen Poots, “28 Weeks Later” (2007)) a singer who gets mixed up in partying and drugs, his wife Jean (Anna Friel) and glamour model girlfriend Fiona Richmond. A large part of the drama inevitably stems from his relationships with them as his marriage falls apart.
Coogan drops in a Partridge-ism or two and the addition of a moustache makes his portrayal of Richmond a tad seedy. He plays the part well but seeing him as the King of Porn and a sexy millionaire is quite a reach. If you’re into quirkiness then Coogan as Raymond may be a turn on.
There is a similar atmosphere to Coogan and Winterbottom’s other collaborations, especially “24 Hour Party People” (2002) about the music scene in Manchester in the eighties. Winterbottom skilfully displays each decade, 60s to 80s, on screen in “Love” and there is plenty of nudity to titillate the audience.
“A Liar’s Autobiography: The Untrue Story of Monty Python's Graham Chapman”
A film that slipped under the radar a bit (it was officially released last November) and will serve more an addition to a Monty Python fan’s collection of memorabilia although non-fans will get a kick out of the quirky animation.
Before his death in 1989 Graham Chapman managed to write his memoirs and more than twenty years later have been made into a film. It details his career from very early on in comedy, to his time as part of the Python group, and beyond.
Two parties responsible for this indulgent tribute to Chapman are Terry Jones' son Bill and Ben Timlett; Bill and Ben Productions is their catchy company name. They've directed a Python film before, and won an Emmy for it, "Monty Python - Almost the Truth". BBC veteran Jeff Simpson also directs and produces.
Expect lots of quirky 3D animation (of course) with some bits from the rest of the group; John Cleese, Michael Palin, Terry Gilliam and Terry Jones. No Eric Idle though, he opted out of contributing to the film. Fourteen different animation companies tell, each in their unique way, a different chapter of Chapman’s life.
There are also a few authors who make contributions including Douglas Adams. Spookily the voiceover is Chapman himself, leading the way through the film.
“In the Fog” ("V Tumane")
From Ukrainian director Sergei Loznitsa his film is an adaptation from a novel set in the Western frontiers of the USSR in 1942. Sushenya (Vladimir Svirskiy) has been wrongly accused of collaborating with the Germans who currently occupy the area.
The title relates to the fog of war and the fog of fear that Sushenya, a railway worker, is living in after the occupation of Belorussia. When he is arrested by Nazi’s with a group of others, and they are all hanged except him, a rumour circulates that he was saved because he’s a collaborator.
The ordeal doesn’t end there when he’s lead away from him home by two pro-Soviets and taken into the woods to be shot. One partisan hesitates opening a window for an ambush. Sushenya is injured and carries one of his captures back to their camp, closely followed by the other.
Another addition to a long list of films about how ordinary citizens fight and make difficult moral choices during a time of occupation. Be prepared for a slow moving but engrossing watch.