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From Roger Moore with Love

Reviewer: Maryam Philpott

Director: Jack Cocker

You hear the name Roger Moore and you are probably already smiling, partly thinking about the panache with which he played his famous roles but also for the self-deprecating awareness he bought to the chat show circuit, and later to his own writing about his life. Now Jack Cocker has used that famous voice as the starting point for his documentary With Love From Roger Moore in which his many famous friends and fans also recall the man who put a smile on their faces.

Hearing Moore’s distinctive voice again has two slightly different elements in this film; first everything that is said within the narration is taken from Moore’s own writing about his life and career, ensuring that the star retains posthumous agency over his legacy and how he wanted his experiences to be represented. But there is an actual voice reading those out, that of comedian and actor Steve Coogan who openly provides a close if not quite perfect impersonation of Moore’s smooth vocal quality. All of this is supplemented with personal home video recordings, film and television excerpts, photographs, letters and most importantly, a wonderful selection of talking heads including his children and stepson, and the raft of well known faces who genuinely became life-long friends including Joan Collins, Pierce Brosnan and Bond co-star Christopher Walken who admits having refused to discuss Moore despite the many previous requests.

What emerges, not unexpectedly perhaps, is a man who was beloved behind the camera as he was on screen. And notwithstanding the marital failures and critical panning recorded at various points in his career, the film focuses on creating the ‘character’ of Roger Moore which the man himself admits was the key to his success, a persona that eventually found its way into his best remembered performances. Recalling the poor reviews for his first two Bond outings – Live and Let Die and The Man with Golden Gun – Moore and several of the talking heads agree that trying to fit into the character of James Bond was a struggle until the actor decided to turn Bond into Roger Moore, quickly followed by success with The Spy Who Loved Me.

These insights and Moore’s lively delivery make the documentary’s 1 hour 20 minutes fly by, taking a chronological approach to Moore’s life that mixes his personal and professional development with a whistlestop tour of his working-class youth and matinee idol days through to this later work with UNICEF. And even though there is little time to linger in any one part of this life, viewers will emerge still feeling that they have the measure of the man, his impact and the personality that everyone is here to celebrate.

Yes, more on the Bond years, more on The Saint, more about his later career would be excellent, but Moore has documented those in his autobiography and other writings which you will be running to read all over again. With so many overlong films being made, this one does exactly what the man himself would advocate; it leaves you wanting Moore.

From Roger Moore with Love is in UK cinemas from 13 November.

The Reviews Hub Score:

Moore please

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The Reviews Hub Film Team is under the editorship of Maryam Philpott.

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