I don’t believe it.
I spent ten minutes raving about how terrific this movie is, and it gets eaten. I’m too tired to go over it again. Maybe tomorrow.
Okay, I’m back.
Saw this movie yesterday with Mr. Rilch. If you didn’t know, it’s about Bob Crane…you know, Col. Hogan who had a secret life videotaping himself having sex, and was murdered, and since the prime suspect was acquitted, we’ll probably never know whodunit.
Greg Kinnear, as Crane, was terrific, as was Willem Dafoe as his pal with the video equipment. Well, everyone was terrific, really.
Crane, in this film, is never innocent. For instance, the first time we see him with his wife, she’s upset at having found his collection of graphic, for the era, porn magazines. He starts out smarmy, hiding behind the golf sweaters and picture-perfect family, and when things open up in the '70s, he’s free to come “out” as a sleazy swinger. Dafoe’s character, John Carpenter (not that John Carpenter!) is both arrogant and pathetic. He wants to be a hotshot, but he can only be a pimp and an enabler. It’s Crane who uses him, not the reverse.
Crane was once in a Disney farce called Superdad. I saw the first half of it years ago (couldn’t stomach the whole thing), and even then wondered what the heck had happened to handsome Col. Hogan. Now I know, of course. There’s a scene in the film with a Disney exec confronting him on set about the “scandal” of a tabloid photo of Crane at a strip club, and he shrugs it off. That’s not the sword-fall he dreads: the fact that he patronizes strip clubs is about the least damning revelation that can be made about him!
The photography, and Angelo Badalementi’s awesome-as-always score, convey the tone wonderfully. It starts out bright and sunshiny, and, so gradually you almost don’t notice, darkens until the last scenes are as grainy as (probably) the “home-theater” footage. The set dressers and costumers also did an excellent job; you can almost pinpoint the year according to what people are wearing and what locations they’re in.
I did think that Kinnear sustained the chipper act a few scenes beyond the point where his character should have started to fray, but his performance in the final half-hour was spot-on. There are two startling scenes one right on top of the other. The first is in his agent’s office, being cut loose because he’s a liability. The second is a random encounter with his son from his first marriage, where he’s clearly out of sync with reality. Both of these could have been cliches, but the screenwriters were sparing with their words and let the acting flesh it out.
Also check Dafoe’s last scene, alone in his hotel room. I’m not sure (I was cringing in anticipation of what I knew was about to happen) but I think they didn’t show who struck the fatal blow.
Anyway, I thought it was top-notch. And if you’re worried about the sexual content: naturally there was a lot of nudity, but sex acts were glossed over, and some of the real-life footage that was included, was pixillated.
Now I hope this goes through!