Based on true story, a glimpse into the colorful life, and mysterious death of actor Bob Crane, Auto Focus is one of Paul Schrader’s better films, despite its relentlessly grim nature and detached perspective.
Grade: B-
Though he has not written the talke–the script is credited to Trevor Macy and Michael Gerbosi–there’s strong emotional affinity between the director and this kind of screen material, revolving as it is around a tragic and tormented protagonist.
Crane, handsome and charming, became well known to the American public as the star of CBS’ hit comedy “Hogan’s Heroes,” which reached its height in 1965-1971, during the Vietnam War and sexual revolution.
Capitalizing on his fame, Crane dove into the freewheeling spirit of the times with relish, having affairs with numerous women. Crane fell into the seamy world of excessive sex, time spent in strip clubs, and other forms of decadence that money and fame allow (or can buy).
Eventually, Crane teamed up with video technician John Carpenter to chronicle his various and deviant exploits. The movie suggests that this association may very well have led to his murder in a Scottsdale, Arizona motel room in 1978, where his skull was crushed with a camera tripod.
The tale unfolds as a series of short scenes, sort of vignettes, never delving too deep into Crane’s personality, especially sexual behavior. Indeed, Crane’s sexual addiction comes across as a display of narcissism, rather than a way to satisfy erotic urges or other instincts.
The two men develop a friendship with strong homoerotic overtones–in one scene, they masturbate side by side–but again Schrader leaves that aspect unexplored or ambiguous at best.
Auto Focus is a weird film, a tale of sexual obsession that is so cold and distant–a recurrent problem in Schrader’s work–that it barely titillates the spectators with its view of what was clearly a deplorable conduct.
Cast
Greg Kinnear as Bob Crane
Willem Dafoe as John Henry Carpenter
Rita Wilson as Anne Crane
Maria Bello as Patricia Olson-Crane / Sigrid Valdis
Ron Leibman as Lenny
Michael E. Rodgers as Richard Dawson
Kurt Fuller as Werner Klemperer
Grand L. Bush as Ivan Dixon
Christopher Neiman as Robert Clary
Ed Begley Jr. as Mel Rosen
Michael McKean as Video Executive
Roderick L. McCarthy as Bartender
John Kapelos as Bruno Gerussi
Lyle Kanouse as John Banner
Directed by Paul Schrader
Written by Michael Gerbosi, based on “The Murder of Bob Crane” by Robert Graysmith
Produced by Scott Alexander, Larry Karaszewski, Alicia Allain Pat Dollard, Brian Oliver, Todd Rosken
Cinematography: Jeffrey Greeley, Fred Murphy
Edited by Kristina Boden
Music by Angelo Badalamenti
Production companies: Propaganda Films; Good Machine
Distributed by Sony Classics
Release date: October 18, 2002
Running time: 105 minutes
Budget: $7 million
Box office: $2.7 million
