Review of One Hour Photo (2002) by Manny C — 03 Dec 2013

It could have been a super phoned in performance from Robin Williams playing Sy Parrish--known as Sy the Photo Guy to his customers--as just a typical psycho residing in a mall. It's an easy route for an actor, but Williams isn't settling for easy or cliche, and instead follows the lead of director Mark Romanek (the music video vet) and delivers one of his most compelling and most unnerving performance to date.

Sy is man who easily mixes in with the almost clinical surroundings of the Sav-mart where he works. He is quiet, very meticulous and mindful of his own business. Romanek too is quite meticulous and subtle when it comes to the business of watching him. For Sy, who is very lonely, the photos he snaps of families are personal to him. He feels a connection to the photos he develops, particularly that of the Yorkins---husband Will (Michael Vartan), wife Nina (Connie Nielson) and the nine-year-old son Jakob (Dylan Smith). A quick shot of Sy at home--his surrounds as cold and antiseptic as the mall he works at---shows his wall littered with photos of the family. Then one day Sy comes across a photo that could shake the Yorkins to their core, and soon he's invading their home and becoming more and more unhinged.

Williams skillfully portrays Sy's descent with expert style and nuance, a long way from his sappy turns in fluff like Bicentennial Man and Patch Adams. Unfortunately, Romanek's script sinks to facile psycho-cliches in the film's final act, nearly zapping all of the complexity in this fascinating character. But even when the film itself trips up on its ambitions, Williams remains electrifying.