Paul Schrader’s ‘Auto Focus’ was a modern American tragedy. His film is a hard hitting celebrity drama involving the life and times of the impish, charismatic Bob Crane who rode on the back of his success as Hogan in the hit CBS television series ‘Hogan’s Heroes’.
From a comfortable middle class life with a loving wife and kids Crane’s life descended into sex and voyeurism addictions, from which he could never release himself.
Remember Sergeant Schultz’s catch-cry ‘I see nothing, I know nothing’. Schrader’s film confronts us with a lot about Crane that we probably would prefer to turn a blind eye to. Crane’s obsession with videoing all of his many sexual exploits became ever more grotesque.
Greg Kinnear as Crane and William Dafoe as his ‘shadow’ friend, John Carpenter, gave great performances.
From a happy go lucky family man ‘Auto Focus’ leaves us with a picture of a very sad, confused, middle-aged man. Haunting. Sad.
(c) David Kary
