Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Moderate
- dispassionate
- dread-filled
- sardonic
- serious film night
- true crime night
What critics said
Critics broadly found the film a compelling, hypnotic, and morally unsettling portrait of Bob Crane’s decline, powered by Greg Kinnear and Willem Dafoe.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Bob Crane maintains a wholesome television image while privately pursuing compulsive sex and pornography.
Crane and John Carpenter use cameras and home video to document sexual encounters, transforming desire into a relentless visual practice.
Crane and Carpenter’s mutual fascination with sex and recording repeatedly intensifies their personal and professional decline.
Period television glamour, cars, clothes, and music frame a downward spiral into compulsive behavior and dread.
Films like Auto Focus, and why
Boogie Nights
shared biographical drama, sexual compulsion, and corrosive male self-destruction
American Gigolo
shared paul schrader focus on male sexual pathology, alienation, and moral collapse
The King of Comedy
shared true-crime biography, obsessive behavior, and unsettling descent beneath public respectability
The Last of the Blonde Bombshells
shared period hollywood setting, celebrity culture, and tragic psychological unraveling
Movie Details
- Director
- Paul Schrader
- Release Date
- 2002-10-18
- Runtime
- 104 min
- Rating
- 6.4 / 10 (225)
Cast
- Greg Kinnear
- Willem Dafoe
- Rita Wilson
- Maria Bello
- Ron Leibman
- Kurt Fuller
- Ed Begley Jr.
- Michael E. Rodgers
- Michael McKean
- Christopher Neiman
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- Howdy Amazon Channel
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Auto Focus about?
- A celebrated television actor’s wholesome public image corrodes under the pressure of sexual addiction, voyeuristic recording, and a dangerously enabling friendship.
- What is Auto Focus like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Auto Focus as measured, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is Auto Focus violent?
- Somewhat. Ember rates the violence in Auto Focus as moderate.
- What did critics think of Auto Focus?
- Critics broadly found the film a compelling, hypnotic, and morally unsettling portrait of Bob Crane’s decline, powered by Greg Kinnear and Willem Dafoe.
- Which films are like Auto Focus?
- Films with a similar feel include Boogie Nights, American Gigolo, The King of Comedy, and The Last of the Blonde Bombshells.
- How long is Auto Focus?
- Auto Focus runs 104 minutes.
- Where can I watch Auto Focus?
- In United States, Auto Focus streams on Howdy Amazon Channel.
