Review of One Hour Photo (2002) by Walter B — 01 Sep 2014

"One Hour Photo" is a surprisingly haunting and atmospheric film about loneliness and seclusion toward reality. The storyline of the film follows Sy Parrish (Robin Williams), aka, "Sy the photo guy", a local employee who works behind the counter in the photography section at "Savemart". From the outset of Sy's introduction, we are greeted with a cheerful almost generic worker who enjoys his job (the type of bland smiling personality that stores such as these would strive for). He is overly dedicated to his customers taking great lengths to make sure that photos are developed correctly and with inordinate detail. Sy's favorite customers are the Yorkin family; consisting of a married couple, Nina and Will, as well as their young son Jake. The family has apparently been going to get their film developed by Sy for years, oblivious to Sy's infatuation toward them. The audience soon learns that behind his soft spoken and seemingly kind exterior, Sy has a secret. He has been making copies of and collecting Yorkin family pictures for nearly a decade.

To Sy, the Yorkins, represent ideal photographic (pun intended) family. From the pictures he has developed for them, Sy witnesses a loving household, which he heavily covets. He often imagines himself an adopted member of the Yorkins, as the self-professed "Uncle Sy". Throughout the film we see Sy drive by the Yorkins house or imaging he is part of one of their snapshots. For an example, in one scene, Sy is beholding a Christmas image of the Yorkins during his lunch break. The film then cuts to a scene where the picture has come to life, with Sy in attendance, opening presents with the family. Throughout the movie, he makes various attempts to get closer to the Yorkins, such as "accidently" running into Nina at the mall or, in a rather disturbing scene, trying to give a birthday gift to Jake after his soccer game. The film works well in developing Sy's obsessive nature, so, it is no surprise when he begins showing a darker side of himself. This comes at a time when his systematically crafted world begins to alter. The greatest representation of this is exposed after he develops a film strip brought in by a woman customer, and sees that Nina's husband, Will, is having an affair. His image of the perfect family is thus shattered, stirring up deep seeded emotions.

Williams plays this character brilliantly. He is able to portray a quiet and seemingly trusting individual, but balance it with a darker more vehement personality. Take for instance a scene where he is gladly going through his daily routine, only to begin yelling at the photo machine repair man for not setting the right balance of ink in the instrument. The scene stems from Sy's obsessive dedication toward his costumers and job. In other words Sy has crafted his job as his reality and does not know much outside of it. The audience is privy to Sy's reality through means of the cinematography and direction of "One Hour Photo". While the film may seem grounded at first, I felt something was off. This is due to carefully constructed sets, making Sy's photo booth eerily secluded in the back of the store with aggressive white lights almost attacking the audience. Also the film is often tinted using additive colors such as red, green and blue (those used to print photographs) to shape Sy's world out of the store. In terms of direction, director, Mark Romanek, made the smart decision to allow Sy's character to possess an occasional voice over monolog, giving the audience some insight into the way the character thinks. One such scene, is at the beginning where Sy discusses how most people take the photographs of the happy moments in life, and want to only preserve those memories. By only giving small snippets into the character's mind, Romanek helps the audience to gain a better understanding of the character, while also keeping him distanced. The look and direction of the film, is coupled with an intense soundtrack providing a continuous thudding sound, as if a person is rapidly taking snapshots with a camera, which is set in motion during the suspense of Sy's emotional eruptions.

"One Hour Photo" is one of those movies that definitely contain a real creep factor. It takes items such as average family prints and distorts them into something unnerving. These aspects are rooted in the upheaval of innocence outlined through Sy's character (especially regarding the ending). Sy takes solace in hoping for the perfect world through his beloved photographs; one he believed the Yorkins managed to live. But once he finds out that in reality he has crafted is nothing more than an illusion, he goes to great lengths in order to restore his fantasy back to the existence he originally comprehends it to be.

"One Hour Photo" is a well-crafted movie, with a great performance by Williams, who displays a countless ability range as an actor. It can get pretty dark at times, but the film offers a fascinating, if not disturbing depiction of lonely individuals who have trouble facing reality, perhaps due to past trauma in their own lives.