The film opens with Raymond (Steve Coogan) mourning the loss
of his beloved daughter, watching old video recordings and reflecting back on
his life, as in flashback we get the Paul Raymond story.
Raymond went from humble beginnings in Liverpool to being a
success in London where he put on a show featuring nude models as statues, the
law prevented nudes moving around on stage at that time. Then he moved on to greater
success with his Gentlemen’s Clubs, the sex comedy Pyjama Tops and Men Only
magazine. With each new project he pushed further against the boundaries of public
decency.
He was though a shrewd businessman, who ignored the countless
bad reviews and criticisms. He simply got on with making money, lots of it, and
was smart enough to reinvest it in property; most notably in Soho and he became
Britain's richest man.
Initially helping him run his business was his wife Jean
(Anna Friel) but he wasn't a man who was good at relationships. Whether that was
with his own children or with the women in his life and there were plenty of
them.
At first Jean tolerated his countless affairs with the women who worked
for him. That is until he meets Amber (Tamsin Egerton), who later becomes Fiona
Richmond and the editor of Men Only, his relationship with her results in the
largest divorce settlement in British history.
Amber’s advantage over Jean was that she had no problem with
three in the bed romps, as long as she was part of them. Well at first she didn’t,
eventually she leaves him too.
Meanwhile he is mostly ambivalent to the existence of his
children, save for his Daughter Debbie (Imogen Poots) and it is his relationship
with her that is central to most of the story. He dotes on her but even there
he condones the drug habit that ultimately kills her.
Although
Raymond was fascinating figure, he wasn't a terribly likeable one and
despite the money, the women on tap and the power, he never seemed
genuinely happy. Except that is when he was with his daughter and he
gives her a leg up to her death. After which he became a virtual recluse
until
his own death.
The film is an interesting watch but a bit lifeless. Surprisingly
it lacks drama and even plot, possibly the process of condensing his colourful life down
to first be book sized and then further to be film sized didn’t leave much,
other than a long list of bullet points. The film ended up being more
informative than entertaining.
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