After
viewing Paul Schrader's fantastic new film Auto Focus, I felt so dirty that I
needed to rush home and take a shower.
While
this movie's main character is Hogan's Heroes star Bob Crane (beautifully played
by an energetic Greg Kinnear), Auto Focus is a film about addiction. So while
you may not leave this movie feeling you know more about Crane the man, you will
experience that which dragged this likable TV personality into the depths of destruction.
Auto
Focus begins pre-Hogan's Heroes as we're introduced to loving family man and radio
personality Bob Crane. While Crane enjoys his job, he aspires for something greater.
Things look up when his agent hooks him up with a screen test for a new sitcom.
That sitcom would be Hogan's Heroes, and it would change his life forever. Before
long, Crane befriends video technology specialist John Carpenter (played with
creepy glee by Willem Dafoe), and their friendship leads Crane down a path of
sexual addiction that proves to be fatal in more ways then one.
Paul
Schrader is a seasoned pro when it comes to delving into the minds of withdrawn
characters (see the brilliant Taxi Driver). His take on Crane is extremely interesting
because he never chooses to make a villain out of the sitcom star. This is a story
about a normal, decent guy who not only falls into a deviate lifestyle for no
apparent reason, but doesn't seem to see anything wrong with it. Schrader isn't
necessarily interested in telling us why Crane went in this direction, and the
truth is, there probably isn't a reason. Sometimes, people just do things because
they can. Was he seduced by the power of celebrity? Was he bored with his everyday
life? Who knows. Schrader expertly gives us an intimate and ugly glimpse into
the world of addiction.
Schrader
is also a wizard when it comes to recreating scenes from Hogan's Heroes. The numerous
recreations in this picture are very detailed and more than impressive.
As
well directed and written as this picture is, Kinnear is also a big key to Auto
Focus being as effective as it is. His sheer likability and charisma keep Crane
from becoming a disgusting, one dimensional parody. This is a fully textured character,
and in the end, I felt sorry for Crane, even though I was fully aware that all
the bad things happening to him, were because of his own doing. Kinnear is able
to convey the sympathy factor even when he's engaging in all this naughty behavior.
Willem Dafoe also soars as the creepy, lonely Carpenter. In the early goings on,
he appears to be the devil leading a helpless Crane down a self destructive path,
but in the end, he's nothing more then a sad, lonely soul, who has to leech onto
others to feel important. And through it all, Crane and Carpenter were true friends
in every sense of the word. The supporting cast is also stellar; featuring fantastic
work from Maria Bello, Rita Wilson, Ron Liebman, Michael Rodgers, Kurt Fuller,
and Bruce Solomon.
Auto
Focus is depressing, grim, and provocative. It's also very funny, even if it's
subject matter is nothing to laugh at. Schrader, Kinnear, and Dafoe have made
an extremely effective tale about an odd, volatile friendship and a life altering
addiction. This is one of the year's best films.
