One Hour Photo
"If pictures have anything to say, it's this: I was here, I existed. I was young and happy, and someone cared enough about me to take my picture." Sound intriguing? It's one of many fascinating observations made by photo developer Seymour Parrish (Robin Williams) in One Hour Photo, an arty, fresh thriller guaranteed to give you the creeps.
Seymour works at SaveMart, a sterilized convenience store with a distinctly eerie feel courtesy of Cinematographer Jeff Cronenweth (Fight Club) and Art Director Michael Manson (The Cell). It's here that Nina Yorkin (Connie Nielsen) comes to drop off her family photos for developing. Often she brings her 9-year-old son Jake (Dylan Smith), who strikes up a friendly rapport with Seymour, whom he nicknames "Sy the photo guy."
To Nina, Seymour is just a harmless eccentric who hardly merits a second thought. But to Seymour, Nina and her family have become an obsession. Sy lives a lonely existence bereft of family and friends, and sees in the Yorkin family photos an idyllic example of what the perfect family should be. Seymour wants this existence for himself so badly that he actually fantasizes about playing an "Uncle Sy" role in the Yorkin family.
Writer/director Mark Romanek's excellent screenplay probes the psyche of a protagonist who's true to life, but who you don't see featured in films much: a middle-aged man whose life is devoid of happiness and connection to others. It's a smart thriller that takes many intriguing twists and turns as Seymour's relationship with the Yorkins gradually grows darker. It all builds to a deeply disturbing climax that gets under your skin and lingers there.
Robin Williams cuts to the core of Seymour's loneliness and isolation in a sensational performance that's on par with his finest work -- and may just be his best performance yet. The ordinarily gregarious Williams delivers a perfectly restrained performance, turning his focus inward to help develop one of the most fascinating characterizations in recent years.
Romanek's direction is top-notch, delivering thrills aplenty while raising troubling questions about the deadening effects of a cold, sterile world in which building relationships is difficult. Romanek, who's directed music videos for the likes of Nine Inch Nails, Madonna and R.E.M., provides plenty of memorable visuals, but doesn't skimp on the smaller details in developing Sy's alternately horrific and sympathetic character.
The film gets a few small moments wrong, and the interplay between Nina and her husband Will (Michael Vartan) could have been stronger. But Romanek gets far more details right, filling the cast out with worthy supporting players such as ER's Eriq La Salle (as Detective James Van Der Zee) and Gary Cole (as Seymour's boss Bill Owens). Also notetoworthy is the film's excellent, haunting score, written by Run Lola Run composers Reinold Heil and Johnny Klimek.
One Hour Photo has a little Psycho, American Beauty, Taxi Driver and Peeping Tom in it, but ultimately it stands on its own as a bold, original work. It's a terrific thriller featuring a blazing performance by Robin Williams. Don't miss it.
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Film's disturbing content and lack of boozing scenes suggest a non-alcoholic moviewatching experience.
The creepy climactic scene is likely to provoke a dry spell for even the most suave of Casanovas.
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