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Auto Focus 2002 |
Review by Jonathan Cornwell |
Directed by Paul Schrader
R, 107 min. (strong sexuality, nudity, language) |
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Starring: Greg Kinnear, Willem Dafoe, Maria Bello, Rita Wilson, Ron Leibman, Michael E. Rodgers
Producers: Scott Alexander, Alicia Allain, Pat Dollard, Larry Karaszewski, Todd Rosken
Screenplay: Michael Gerbosi
Cinematography: Fred Murphy
Distributor: Sony Pictures Classics
Released: 10.18.02 (Limited) |
Rating:
  (out of ) |
Auto Focus tells the story of Bob Crane, from his rise as the star of "Hogan's Heroes" in 1965 to his demise at the hands
of a murderer in 1978. In between it portrays the life of a sex addict, a hopeless slave to the lust that destroyed two
marriages and left an accounting of many encounters on videotape. Director Paul Schrader, who is responsible for
Taxi Driver (writer) and American Gigolo (director), is fascinated with flawed, dark characters. Crane is fertile territory to
further explore this theme. The film is bleak but honest, a sexual fantasy land for most men, but for Crane the drug that
kept him alive.
Crane is played by Greg Kinnear in a performance that reinforces his quality as an actor (his first sign of talent came in
As Good As It Gets). The film opens with Crane as a disc jockey, married to his childhood sweetheart, with
a close-knit family. When the opportunity to star in the upcoming "Hogan's Heroes" comes along, he hesitates, but
eventually accepts the road to stardom. As the show became wildly popular, he met many new people, including
John Carpenter (Willem Dafoe), an audio/video salesman, who coaxes him into visiting strip clubs and lures him into
sex parties with many women. It's not long before he's addicted, loses his wife Annie (Rita Wilson) to divorce and his
show to cancellation, marries another woman, Patricia (Maria Bello), and spirals into a life of uncontrolled sexual desires.
After futile attempts at a comeback, his tragic life was halted in a motel room by a still unknown murderer.
The film goes to great lengths to place much of the blame of Crane's demise on Carpenter, who depended on Crane
for his wild lifestyle and homemade porn collection. Carpenter was like a groupie who never went home, clinging to
Crane for both reinforcement and assurance that his nightly escapades would continue unchecked. And, of course,
when Crane threatened to abandon him, the film surmises that Carpenter struck out in anger. There's no direct
proof of his involvement in Crane's death, but it does seem plausible.
The real strength of Auto Focus is in the performances, which are effective and disturbing. Kinnear leads the
cast with a pitch-perfect portrayal of Crane's transformation from moral man to seedy sex addict. He has complete
control of his character and seems to be in tune with Crane's fall from grace. It's a confident, assured effort. Dafoe
is eerily effective as the leach-like Carpenter, conjuring images of similar characters in Shadow of the Vampire and
Spider-Man. His demeanor is chilling yet disarming, the perfect blend for seduction of a man like Crane.
Supporting turns by Ron Leibman as Crane's agent and Mario Bello as Crane's second wife are solid additions to a well-constructed
picture.
If you're a little uncomfortable watching Auto Focus, then Schrader has done his job. He eschews a glossed over
version of Crane's life, combining the elements of sex and addiction with consistent authenticity. As character studies
go, this one is memorable because it portrays its subject without judgment, setting the table for the audience to come
to their own conclusions. And that's all one can really ask of films of this nature.
© 2003 Jonathan Cornwell
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 |
 | Masterpiece - Film perfection |
| Excellent - A Must See |
| Good - Highly Recommended |
| Fair - Worth seeing |
| Average - Viewable, but not recommended |
| Below average - View at own risk |
| Poor - Avoid at all costs |
| Very poor - An embarassment to the film industry |
| Zero | Awful - One of the worst films ever made |
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