L'icône du journalisme Gay Talese rapporte sur Gerald Foos, le propriétaire d'un motel du Colorado, qui aurait secrètement surveillé ses clients, regardant depuis une "plate-forme d'observat... Tout lireL'icône du journalisme Gay Talese rapporte sur Gerald Foos, le propriétaire d'un motel du Colorado, qui aurait secrètement surveillé ses clients, regardant depuis une "plate-forme d'observation" qu'il a construite dans le grenier du motel.L'icône du journalisme Gay Talese rapporte sur Gerald Foos, le propriétaire d'un motel du Colorado, qui aurait secrètement surveillé ses clients, regardant depuis une "plate-forme d'observation" qu'il a construite dans le grenier du motel.
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As a documentary it's fine and nothing beyond standard. Writer gets duped by source. The end.
The real story is about years of a sexual predator who made a friend in an equally depraved human being who instead of turning him in, wanted to make a buck and failed.
It's understandable if you assume this is the story of a pathetic and disgusting Aurora, Colorado motel owner who, for many years, quietly leered at his guests from a self-constructed perch in the attic. Gerald Foos methodically documented the sexual actions of the Manor House Motel guests, which numbered 2000-3000 per year. If his actions aren't remarkable (not in a good way) enough, Mr. Foos actually married not one, but two women who were complicit in his hobby.
In 1980, renowned reporter and author ("from age 15 to 80") Gay Talese received a letter from Gerald Foos, kicking off a three decade relationship culminating in a controversial feature article in "The New Yorker" and a book entitled "The Voyeur's Motel". Once Mr. Foos agrees to have his name published, co-directors Myles Kane and Josh Koury jump on board to document the final steps in Mr. Talese's writing and research process. It's here that we enter the oddest man cave you'll likely see. In the basement of Talese's immaculate Manhattan brownstone is not just his writing office, but also a lifetime of research and writing boxes and shelves of material that will surely one day be part of a museum or university collection.
The unexpected parallels between writer and subject are made clear. Both are voyeurs and both are collectors. As a journalist, Talese observes the actions of people, while Foos is quite obviously the definition of a Peeping Tom. Talese collects the years of research for his writings, while Foos shows off his extraordinary sports memorabilia collection (also in his basement). Beyond these similarities, what stands out most are the unbridled egos of these two men. Both seemed most focused on getting or keeping their names and stories in the headlines. Of course, Talese has built a career on his name and reputation, while the aging Foos simply sees this as his legacy that somehow deserves historical prominence.
The filmmakers remain more focused on Talese than Foos, and that takes us inside "The New Yorker" where the editors are justifiably concerned about a single-source story – one that without Talese's name attached would likely have never made it past an initial perusal. The aftermath of publication reminds us that we've seen con men before, and there is little joy in being taken on a long ride of deceit. Perhaps the best description of what we see on screen is that it's a sideshow of ego and the need to be seen (watched).
We are living in the era of consistently sexual exploitation nowadays. Nothing seemingly shocks us no more than self inflicted horrors. We desensitize our sexual desires into what medias present to us. There is a degree of sadness about that. Because we are no longer excited about anything. This documentary would be a shocking if it was done 20 years ago. Now it's more like a sideshow. I don't discount its value. It's still worth to watch.
It's about an aging man somehow would like to put his name out there before his final call upon. It's not on any counts of nobility. But in my opinion, the value of examining dark human behaviors might still deserve some attentions . Sociopath to be exact is still something worth to understand. I suspect his long and tedious journal likely containing a lot elaborately fictional stories which just most sociopath would do unsurprisingly . My curiosity is very much contented by the film. I don't think I will be digging into the book any time soon.
Watch it if you haven't done so. It's actually quite entertaining.
Such a claim in this day is hardly surprising, and so the content and character on display here merely comes off as slightly 'odd' but not especially insightful or fascinating for me.
The main focus here is a man that is clearly a bit of braggart, a bit delusional and ridiculous, a bit cash-obsessed yet also enjoys a bit of voyeurism. He exclaims the values of souvenirs he's collected like it's impressive, yet is surprised his story is met by the media with a sense of wrong-doing.
The journalist here makes some odd choices indeed, why only one source for a one-note story is a huge point -- although one he does mention at least, there just isn't enough here to claim anything of special interest.
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- AnecdotesIn April 2016, Steven Spielberg purchased the rights to create a film based on Foos's life, with director Sam Mendes tapped to direct. The film was canceled in November 2016 after Spielberg and Mendes learned of this documentary feature about the same subject, then in production. In regard to the decision to cancel the film, Mendes expressed frustration that no one had advised them of the documentary's existence, but said: "it has so many things that are wonderful and can only be achieved by a documentary...the story became infinitely more interesting and more complicated, but impossible to tell in a narrative movie."
- Citations
Self - Hotel Owner: They couldn't hear me. They couldn't see me. But I could hear them and see them. It's been a secret all these years. It's been a secret for 47 years. Nobody ever will be able to do what I did.
- ConnexionsFeatures Psychose (1960)
Meilleurs choix
- How long is Voyeur?Alimenté par Alexa
Détails
- Durée1 heure 35 minutes
- Couleur
- Rapport de forme
- 1.78 : 1