Seven years after his passing, the life of the third and most prolific James Bond actor is brought to the screen in From Roger Moore With Love. Steve Coogan plays Roger Moore as if he were narrating his own life, reading from old interviews and memoirs to imagine what the actor would say were he alive today. He talks us through the rise of a young man from working class South London who would go on to become the epitome of cool for a generation.
The documentary follows the parallel paths of Moore’s rise to success, along with his four marriages: actress and skater Doorn Van Steyn; singer Dorothy Squires; co-star Luisa Mattioli; and Kristina Tholstrup. The personal side of things is frustratingly opaque, with friends, co-stars, and relatives all sharing showbiz stories that are high on affection but short on insight.
A running theme of the film is that Roger Moore was a character he played for the world, but there’s never any hint at who the real person was. Repeatedly he is described as charming, funny, and self-deprecating, but the breakdowns of his relationships are treated with a shrug rather than looking into what it was like to like to be with the man who would be Bond. Perhaps, for those left behind, it’s because the legend is too precious to tarnish even now.
On the bright side, Bond fans will be delighted with the wealth of footage that celebrated everything the public loved about the star. Archive interviews and family videos combine with an all-star cast of modern interviewees, from 007 successor Pierce Brosnan to famous fan David Walliams, and a very sweet appearance from A View To A Kill villain Christopher Walken. From Roger Moore With Love argues the actor’s own jokes about his acting may have undermined how good he was, while footage shows he got off to a rocky start being accepted as Bond.
As the title suggests, From Roger Moore With Love is a fond ode to the man who lived life in the manner of his most famous role. At one point, Coogan as Moore states: “I just had a really good life,” a statement lacking dramatic tension but one that will satisfy his millions of admirers.
• From Roger Moore With Love screens exclusively across Everyman and Picturehouse cinemas on 15 and 18 December