Review of One Hour Photo (2002) by Jared S — 29 Apr 2013

Meh. Could've been a great film, but failed to establish much of anything. Mark Romanek might not be a great writer, but alongside Spike Jonze, he's easily the best music video director out there and I loved Never Let Me Go.

One Hour Photo's biggest problem is it's characters. When the plot develops it's because our perception of the characters do (though they're really just as one-dimensional as before). So, I could care less for what happens and who it happens to. Plus, the plot's not even close to being any good.

The second biggest problem is that Sy Parrish lives his life around admiration of the picture perfect family yet when Robin Williams gives his questionable voiceover throughout the movie, there is one time in which he explains that pictures are just the happy moments in life (who would take a picture of something dull or sad, and keep it). So why is he feeding himself an illusion? Why is he living his life based on a lie (when he knows what the lie is)?

I think this movie could be remade into a fantastic work, it's a great idea to start out with, but it disappointed me. The conclusion was weak, in that nothing between Sy and the family was really concluded or allowed to breath and the hotel scene with Sy forcing Will and Maya to pose nude?

Oh and Robin Williams wasn't that great - could've done a much better job had Romanek done a better job writing and directing the stale performances (not hating, just critiquing).