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by Frank Wilkins
With a filmography of such timeless classics as Taxi Driver and Raging Bull and lesser-known gems Affliction and The Mosquito Coast, it's clearly evident that director Paul Shrader has an utter fascination with the self-destructive aspects of the human male. Auto Focus is no different as it relates the downward spiral of '60s TV star Bob Crane, better known as Colonel Hogan. But with Auto Focus, it seems Shrader is more interested in creating a style and ambiance than he is in offering an insight into the mind of a man obsessed with having sex and a soul ravaged by an addiction to pornography.

Perhaps that's the point. How can a seemingly commonplace and genuinely sincere guy with a good job, a loving wife and happy kids harbor such a seedy and salacious underbelly? We may never be able to answer that question, and appropriately so, Auto Focus makes no attempts. Bob Crane was not a particularly good actor, nor was he an outwardly charismatic person and unfortunately he didn't live long enough for the true depth of his addiction to be revealed to the world. It is fitting, therefore, that Shrader mirrors Crane's front with a movie that is more gloss and pageantry than it is profundity and intelligence.

The movie opens with a flashy title sequence as '50s era graphics slide about the screen. Much like in Spielberg's Catch Me if You Can, we are immediately immersed in a bygone era that sets a nostalgic mood for the coming story. We are introduced to Bob Crane (Greg Kinnear) as he successfully employs his talents as a big-market disk jockey and struggling actor in Southern California in the late '50s and early '60s. On the home front, his wife Annie (Rita Wilson) provides support in his quest to land the big acting role. Kinnear plays the young Crane with a smooth and dashing ease that seems at home in the kitschy-stylish decor of the era. All appears beautiful and comfortable until the seams of his domestic bliss begin to come apart upon the discovery, by Annie, of his "shady magazine" collection housed in the garage. Crane pathetically excuses it by telling her, "I'm interested in the photography". I've never used that one! I always say I'm only interested in the articles!

Crane lands the lead role in the 1965 TV sitcom Hogan's Heroes instantly making Colonel Hogan and Bob Crane a household name. On the set of Hogan's Heroes he meets a Sony electronics representative named John Carpenter (Willem Dafoe) who introduces him to the latest gadgets in the electronics industry, which included the then-cutting-edge VTR, or video tape recorder. Like a drug addict who uses marijuana as the bridge to cocaine, Crane was drawn to the lure of the instant gratification possibilities of video technology to satisfy his already healthy porn habit.

Like a pair of socially misfit teenagers with enraged hormones, Crane and Carpenter get involved in the "swinging" scene of Los Angeles as they frequent strip clubs where Crane often sits in on the band and plays drums. Women are lured by Crane's celebrity and Carpenter's well-equipped bachelor pad, and soon fall victim to the men's kinky escapades that include videotaped sex, mutual masturbation and orgies. "A day without sex...is a day wasted" becomes the pair's motto.

By now Annie has divorced Crane and his second marriage to Hogan's Heroes co-star Sigrid Valdis is on the rocks despite an agreement between the two that she wittingly accepts his bad habits and the territory that comes with it. But one thing remains constant through Crane's tumultuous life - his friendship with Carpenter, or "Carpy" as Crane called him. The two seem inseparable and Shrader introduces subtle hints that Carpy might be gay. But When Carpy learns of Crane's disapproval, he seems content with the status quo.

By 1978, the acting gigs begin to dry up and Crane wants more than what the cheesy dinner theater circuit can provide. He decides to abandon the lascivious lifestyle, including his friendship with Carpenter. He is later found dead in his bed, his head crushed by the blunt force trauma of a tripod. While the evidence points to Carpenter, he was released after questioning. The murder is unsolved to this day.

Shrader portrays the world of Bob Crane with the deft touch of a visual artist. We are initially enraptured in the mood created by the colors and textures of the period decorum. The harvest golds and avocado greens create a stylish allure that is replaced by a gradually darkening, grainy film texture that begins to resemble his homemade films. As the movie ran its course, I was left with a greasy, slimy and seedy emotion making me feel somewhat abused.

In the end, Auto Focus is a stylish but deeply disturbing little biopic about a weak man with a self-destructive penchant for pleasures of the flesh. It answers no questions and it presents no profound solutions. Consequently, it's an insignificant film about an insignificant actor. If Bob Crane's addiction had been to alcohol rather than pornography, would Shrader have been interested? Would we?

Frank Wilkins

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