One Hour Photo (Full Screen)

 

 

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In this Robin Williams film, Robin plays the character Sy Parrish, who is a lonely, socially awkward employee at a One-Hour-Photo discount store, "SavMart", which is a film name for a Wal-Mart like store. Sy has been working at the store for years, and develops photos, and during that time he has become really fond of the "Yorkins family" Since Sy has no family of his own, he has claimed this one as his imaginary family. Sy has many photos collected over the years, from all the times that the family has come to develop photos at the store he works at. But things start falling apart. Sy struggles with different issues at work and he ends up losing his job; and to make matters worse, he finds out that the husband of the Yorkin family is having an romantic affair with a co-worker from "Yorkin Design" the company he owns. From there things escalate, and Sy overeacts. I am not going to say what happens in the last 25 minutes of the film, but I will say this, the last 25 minutes of the film might surprise some people, as Robin Williams is talented, but this is not his usual role. Over-all I give the movie 4 Out Of 5 Stars

One Hour Photo is a film about a lonely man who develops film at "SavMart". His name is Sy Parrish (Robin Williams) and his job is really all he has. There are social ingredients missing in Sy's mind, and as we get to closer to him we begin to put the pieces together. He has nothing to live for outside of his job and the family that are his favorite customers. The Yorkins; Nina (Connie Nielsen), Will (Michael Vartan), and their only child Jake are the customers Sy most enjoys producing prints for. He sees them as the ideal family and he loves them so much that he creates copies of their prints for himself and he calls himself "uncle" Sy. Unfortunately for Sy, the Yorkins are not aware of any of this. Sy is awkward and socially inept. He walks through life without the ability to relate appropriately with others and it begins to weigh in on him. So what happens if Will Yorkin's friend Maya shows up with a roll of film of her own, and the pictures show her being intimate with Will? What will Uncle Sy do?

There is a genuine creepiness to Director Mark Romanek's One Hour Photo. Romanek's ability to organize images to appropriately translate in the music video medium is evidently a solid carryover to his work as a feature filmmaker. This movie has a remarkably unique feel to it and where most films of this genre would focus on the Yorkins as the protagonists, One Hour Photo has us staring directly at the empty and profoundly sad Sy Parrish. Jeff Cronenweth, the film's cinematographer, also deserves immense praise for his blinding white SavMart shots and overall crisp photography. The setting becomes Sy's element effortlessly, which is convenient because SavMart is Sy. He has nothing to go home to. The most praise though should land squarely upon Robin Williams. His role is a completely unrecognizable transformation and even though he received praise and a Saturn Award, he may have received more if this performance was in a different genre.

There is something about the way One Hour Photo unfolds that is appropriate but invariably predictable. The ending doesn't hit as hard as the effective (and credit-less) opening scenes. It's hard to say whether that is a criticism of the second half of One Hour Photo or a gigantic compliment to the first half. I can't imagine a better ending that wouldn't come off as overly contrived or too psychological but all of this is very much just nitpicking. One Hour Photo is a very good movie carried primarily by its lead performance and its original atmosphere.

this is a foray into dark territory for Robin Williams.he plays a very
disturbed and sick individual,who ends up stalking a family.this movie
has potential written all over it.psycho stalks family and incorporates
himself into their lives.so far,so good.now,enter Robin Williams as the
psycho,something new for him.Does Williams live up to the challenge?yes
not only does he bring the disturbed man to life,he also brings some
sympathy to the character.now,the character is certainly menacing,but
the writing restrains the character.he could have really let loose and
been even more psychotic than he is.the character is very low key and
understated,not necessarily a bad thing,but in this case,i think they
could have done more.while Williams acquits himself quite well with the
material at hand,i thought the inclusion of Connie Nielson as the
mother of the family being stalked was a master stroke.now,i'm not
gonna say this was a bad movie,because it certainly isn't.i just think
the main character and the story could have been more developed.my vote
for "one Hour Photo" is 3/5

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5.0 out of 5 stars One of the most impressive intellectual thrillers in years
Robin Williams gives an Oscar-worthy performance as the lonely, somewhat creepy, but wholly sympathetic Sy Parrish in this haunting, compelling directorial debut by Mark Romanek... Read more

Published on July 4 2006 by Daniel Jolley

4.0 out of 5 stars Gets "under the skin"
The idea of this movie is not to scare the hell out of you with visions of gore, violence, or action. Read more

Published on July 19 2004 by Kyle Boreing

1.0 out of 5 stars worst movie ever
this is one of the worst movies ive seen and i am a big robbin williams fan ive seen every thing he has done even the birdcage i thought thet insomia was ten times better then... Read more

Published on July 13 2004

3.0 out of 5 stars Robin Williams at his best....but something was missing
I have to admit Robin Williams is one of the most talented actors out there. he can play so many different roles. Read more

Published on July 5 2004 by Jimmy Lee

4.0 out of 5 stars Robin Williams was awesome in this movie...
This movie was pretty good. Robin Williams couldn't have been any better in this role. He did awesome. I was spooked by him in just a couple minutes into the movie. Read more

Published on July 3 2004 by ThisThatNEverything

5.0 out of 5 stars a bravura performance by robin williams
the Williams character creepy? I am not so sure. If there was anything creepy in this idiosyncratic movie it was the bland anonymity of the American Wal-Mart (the... Read more

Published on Jun 29 2004 by kaioatey

5.0 out of 5 stars when reality and fantasy collide, it's not a pretty picture
They say "a picture is worth a thousand words," and "One Hour Photo" definitely proves it. Read more

Published on Jun 28 2004 by stephanie

2.0 out of 5 stars All style and very little substance
A thriller without a drop of blood. Some directors can do it such as the hugely under-rated New Zealand film 'Mr Wrong'. This film simply does not cut it. Read more

Published on Jun 25 2004 by Kevin Brianton

5.0 out of 5 stars good
It's a really good psychological thriller. Unpredictable as hell. Robin Williams has been acting much better than usual lately. He's got that going for him, which is good. Read more

Published on Jun 18 2004 by Red

4.0 out of 5 stars Very deep, beyond initial perception
I thought this was a very good movie, but I didn't realize much of what made it even better until I read Karalea's review. If you haven't read it, I suggest you do so. Read more

Published on Jun 14 2004 by S. Holzknecht

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