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Sy, the "Photo Guy"... is an ordinary, if slightly awkward man who has spent the past 20 years of his life working in SavMart's photo lab. Every day people bring in their films for processing.
Sy takes great care with people's photos, even treating them as if they were his own to get the best results within the One Hour Processing that his kiosk offers.
But Sy has a secret... Sy The Photo Guy is more disturbed than anyone could imagine.
This underrated thriller brings a depth of story and a lead character so memorable, it's hard to deny Robin Williams' brilliance.
For a start, it's very simple... nice guy with a darker side, takes a fancy to other people's lives.
The screenplay is also pretty simple yet the storytelling is so well put together, you actually get to care for Sy and for the other people in the story that he inevitably has dealings with.
What's good about the film, is that there is a very subtly undertone of psychology.
What made Sy this way? Is he simply lonely? Or has 20 years of being alone with nothing other than other people's photos as company twisted his sense of right and wrong?
And... was he actually in the right after all, with what he does?
It's a very thought provoking story.
The acting is also bang on.
Michael Vartan and Connie Nielsen as married couple Will and Nina are pretty apt... they play the long term married couple with problems really well.
As too does Dylan Smith, the son of Nina and Will. His natural innocence, especially when it comes to Sy is lovely to see in a film of this type.
Robin Williams however... wow.
Excessively normal. Extremely quiet and subdued but when the screenplay comes into it's own and Sy is... unleashed... Robin Williams becomes something immensely upsetting.
Combining that with the fact that Williams himself was holding back his own flashy side, it makes his acting even more potent.
There are some scenes early on that show Sy's darker side, but Williams' natural screen presence to be likeable, it makes for an incredibly in-depth character.
Williams also studied photography and photo development to make the role more believable.
Back up comes from Eriq La Salle as a Detective and Gary Cole as Sy's manager.
There's little to no action really. Apart from some pretty highly emotionally charged scenes but the, erm, photography is absolutely tip top and some of the more quieter scenes mixed with a relatively haunting soundtrack make for some engaging cinema.
Review #208, Movie #279
One Hour Photo
Year Of Release
2002
Director
Mark Romanek
Producer
Christine Vachon
Writer
Mark Romanek
Cast
Robin Williams, Connie Nielsen, Michael Vartan, Dylan Smith and Eriq La Salle
Notes
Many of the characters in the film are named after real life photographers, including the hotel seen at the end of the film, The Edgerton, named after Harold Eugene Edgerton.
Many of the characters in the film are named after real life photographers, including the hotel seen at the end of the film, The Edgerton, named after Harold Eugene Edgerton.
Many "Lonely Man" films, including Taxi Driver, were an inspiration for One Hour Photo.
Robin Williams' natural upbeat manner and zany antics are an absolute no-show in his character Sy... Williams would actually go nuts when the cameras stopped rolling so he could let out his pent-up antics.
---
Sy, the "Photo Guy"... is an ordinary, if slightly awkward man who has spent the past 20 years of his life working in SavMart's photo lab. Every day people bring in their films for processing.
Sy takes great care with people's photos, even treating them as if they were his own to get the best results within the One Hour Processing that his kiosk offers.
But Sy has a secret... Sy The Photo Guy is more disturbed than anyone could imagine.
---
This underrated thriller brings a depth of story and a lead character so memorable, it's hard to deny Robin Williams' brilliance.
For a start, it's very simple... nice guy with a darker side, takes a fancy to other people's lives.
The screenplay is also pretty simple yet the storytelling is so well put together, you actually get to care for Sy and for the other people in the story that he inevitably has dealings with.
What's good about the film, is that there is a very subtly undertone of psychology.
What made Sy this way? Is he simply lonely? Or has 20 years of being alone with nothing other than other people's photos as company twisted his sense of right and wrong?
And... was he actually in the right after all, with what he does?
It's a very thought provoking story.
The acting is also bang on.
Michael Vartan and Connie Nielsen as married couple Will and Nina are pretty apt... they play the long term married couple with problems really well.
As too does Dylan Smith, the son of Nina and Will. His natural innocence, especially when it comes to Sy is lovely to see in a film of this type.
Robin Williams however... wow.
Excessively normal. Extremely quiet and subdued but when the screenplay comes into it's own and Sy is... unleashed... Robin Williams becomes something immensely upsetting.
Combining that with the fact that Williams himself was holding back his own flashy side, it makes his acting even more potent.
There are some scenes early on that show Sy's darker side, but Williams' natural screen presence to be likeable, it makes for an incredibly in-depth character.
Williams also studied photography and photo development to make the role more believable.
Back up comes from Eriq La Salle as a Detective and Gary Cole as Sy's manager.
There's little to no action really. Apart from some pretty highly emotionally charged scenes but the, erm, photography is absolutely tip top and some of the more quieter scenes mixed with a relatively haunting soundtrack make for some engaging cinema.
---
All in all, not perfect... but simple and small enough to keep your eyes fixed to the screen without getting bored.
Quite disturbing in some scenes when you see the lead character's darker side set against his lighter side.
And Robin Williams absolutely makes this film and rocks the world of cinema with his turn as the twisted Photo Guy.
My rating: 92%
