One Hour Photo

Seymour is a lonely nondescript man who lives by himself and works in the photo developing lab in a large mall. The only bit of cheer in his day is to develop very good photos in his lab, and he takes great pride in his work. His favourite customers are the Yorkin's, who have a son and regularly develop pictures. Seymour's like for this family goes beyond `like' and he feels part of their family and has all their pictures on his wall. However when both his job and the unity of his family are threatened he reacts.

I saw this film in a free preview screening before it came out so I had no reviews to cloud me first. Happily most of them appear to feel the same as I did. In terms of plot this set up will be no surprise to anyone – we've all seen Single White Female and Pacific Heights etc, we know what happens that leads to the old bunny boiling etc.

However One Hour Photo is different enough to justify watching. My wife complained that it was too slow and boring but I felt this approach helped it stand out. Instead of being a thriller it was more of a cold slow boiler than was more chilling than thrilling. The plot is well laid out – even the money shot of all the pictures on the wall is played out while we're distracted by a joke from the Simpsons on TV. The director's cold approach to story telling works very well and highlights Seymour's grey existence and cold life. Only occasionally does he go astray – the fantasy sequences don't always work for instance but for almost the whole film he does very well.

Towards the end Seymour's behaviour goes erratic as we expect and I was worried that the film had eventually given way to cliché. Happily this is not the case. Yes, Seymour's change is a bit of a leap at first but the film cleverly pulls it back at the end. This makes it above the rest of this genre by a good head and shoulders. Clever touches abound in the film but don't always work. For example the director shows us that it is all about seeing by covering Seymour's eyes with objects in some shots to show he has lost his ability to watch, while the name Yorkin is a slight play on `Your Kin' or your family. These are clever but don't add very much – the eye theme felt a bit too clever and intrusive.

Williams is excellent. Having paid to see him mush around in Patch Adams I was worried here that eventually his emotions would run away with him. However Williams (and here's something you'd won't hear much) keeps it all in check and underplays wonderfully. His Seymour is likeable, sad, pathetic and chilling all at once. It's hard not to feel for him and he is better for being low-key. I truly felt Williams had turned himself into a `little' man – one of those people who you barely notice on the streets as they make no lasting image. Vartan (Alias) is good as Will and Nielsen is also good as Nina. They are also given firm support in the shape of Gary Cole and La Salle. However his is Williams show and, by underplaying, he steals it easily.

Overall this has it's flaws but it is head and shoulders above the rest of this stalker genre. Directed with a clinic eye rather than a thrilling eye this is clever and different enough to more than justify checking it out.

A seemingly innocuous man's descent into madness, and its effect on a family, gives One Hour Photo an advantage over most attempts at psychological thrillers. As with most movies, even critical darlings by the master himself, Mr. Hitchcock, there are questionable plot contrivences and scenes where reality has to be suspended, but these annoyances did not interfere with the total enjoyment of the movie. Williams was eerily brilliant as "Sy, The Photo Guy", and was able to travel between chillingly detached and forcefully angry with ease. The brilliant use of stark colors fleshed out the film, and those that garner enjoyment from the sets and cinematography, as well as the dialogue, will be pleased. This is a film for those that enjoy the total movie experience, and those that appreciate an intensity in their psychological thrillers will not be disappointed. After viewing this film, the question now becomes who gets the Oscar, Williams for One Hour Photo, or Pacino for Insomnia ?

A photo-processing man Seymour "Sy" Parrish (Robin Williams), becomes obsessed with a seemingly perfect family--the Yorkins. He's developed their photos for years and thinks he knows all about them. When he notices something is wrong however, he goes out of his way to correct it.

This is an OK movie with a great performance. The story is interesting, but we know next to nothing about the Yorkins--they're given very little depth. So when things go crazy at the end, you feel nothing. Also Connie Nielsen and Michael Vartan come across with no personality--it's not their fault--the script is against them. Also the movie gets very unpleasant at the end.

But it, more or less, works because of Willaims--he's just great as Sy...charming and creepy at the same time...he's just fantastic. Also the young son of the Yorkins played by Dylan Smith is very good...he acts just like a 9 year old should.

So it's somewhat worth seeing but no great shakes--except for Williams.

well it was a pleasant surprise to see williams in this type of role and succeeding. although he played the very questionable (and dodgy) killer in insomnia, his role in one hour photo was very near perfect in this minor gem of a film. granted williams has been actively pursuing these alternative roles of late and yes it could be construed as being a cynical move on his behalf, however this does not detract from the fact that his role in photo was scarily on the mark.

the directors (romanek) flair for colour synchronicity and immaculate art direction does not stray far from his beginnings as a music video director, however it is this attention to detail and precision that accentuates williams when he chooses to lose the plot. a memorable scene in the film of william's characters eyes squirting blood is in stark contrast to the ordered white formica and polished chrome surfaces that intimate to the spectator a feeling of staring intently at snapshots of a desperate man's life.

if this film was to have any criticism is in the roles of the supporting actors. they are hardly fleshed out and as a spectator i felt that at times i was watching the robin william's rebirth show, however this is a minor point. if i were to mark this out of 10 i would give it a strong 8.

Robin Williams, one of the funniest people on the planet, has made a career of playing some very unpleasant people. In this one, he works at a Fotomat (now nearly extinct) and become the stalker of a family that brings their films to him for development. Not only does he stalk them, he knows everything about them, their birthday parties, their fights, their sporting events, etc. Of course, at some point he is going to inject himself into their lives. Fortunately, the scrip writers used some restraint and made this play out the way it should have (I won't' spoil this for you). Suffice it to say that the trip is a scary one and we can't help but feel our flesh creep a bit. We also are made aware of his loneliness and his dysfunctional existence. He is a multidimensional figure, as quirky as one can get. After seeing "The Social Network" recently, I have to also say that we have created a societal voyeurism in our culture. This further shows how fragile our privacy is and how we are willing to sell it to the highest bidder.