Ask a group of people what kind of super power they would like to have and some of the respondents would say they would want to be invisible. The fact that others can’t see them and they can therefore witness moments that were not meant for their eyes/ears is appealing. As people, we are voyeuristic. How else do you explain the immense popularity of reality shows and the infinite supply of “put people in a weird situation and see what happens” programs started by Big Brother. You could even say that we as film lovers are voyeurs, because we experience something that is not our own experience. A little voyeurism may be human, but there are limits. These were exceeded by Gerald Foos, a former motel owner, as this Netflix documentary makes clear.
A motel owner who secretly looks at the intimate moments of his guests, a scary thought and one that even suspense master, Alfred Hitcock, used in his classic Psycho (which is also referenced). The bizarre thing is that Foos wants to share his story with the world and sees himself as a sort of researcher instead of a perverted man. In order to make his experiences known, he contacted journalist Gay Talese, who previously worked for The New York Times and Esquire and is also a successful writer. The two have been in contact for years and Talese is taking his time to examine all the information he receives as much as possible for an article and a book he writes.
Although the facts about Foos are of course bizarre, this documentary is also a about journalism. Talese builds a confidential relationship with Foos, but at the same time he writes about a subject that makes everyone disgusted and about which he has made no promises to Foos how he will tell his story. When his article is finally published, it has impact. More than they both were expecitng. So they not only have go through a difficult period, but it also strains their personal relationship. This makes this a fascinating documentary in which the viewer gets a voyeuristic glimpse into the lives of two people who are both linked to the same story in their own way.
