← Back to Reviews
in
One Hour Photo
One hour photo; referring to the time it usually takes for the photo developer Sy Parrish to get his customers' pictures printed.
Nowadays in the digital age, people rarely need to go to a photo developer. They still exist of course, but are not as popular as they used to be. Even at this time however, digital was starting to take its place. Bad news for Sy, as the slightest suggestion that the family he often develops photos for might go digital frightens him...
This movie completely blew me away. Robin Williams plays a character so nerve-wreckingly creepy, strange and pitiful that he gets under your skin so much he becomes real. That's some of my favorite kind of characters, where they feel so real that they almost start existing. I have no words for how layered his performance was. It would be so easy to just make a character straight-up creepy only, but the fact that you want to root for him even though you're worried at the same time he'll finally snap speaks volumes for how much he embraces this character. Sy is not a bad person, but he's still dangerous. He's compassionate, but also oddly disconnective. The Yorkin family (well, Nina and Jakob at least) like him, but they are not aware of just how much Sy really loves them, not only as customers, but like they were his own family members. The only times they get an idea of that is when he "jokily" refers to himself as Uncle Sy. When he does start to get a little too close to them, director/writer of this movie conveys it so subtly how they are pleased to see him, but at the same time they know something isn't quite right. Will Yorkin notices something odd about him right away, but doesn't think too much of him outside of just a "stranger". This is the core of the movie, the struggle of Sy trying to get something he can't have. It's almost immediately obvious he's close to them, but it's not enough. He wants to be more than just a nice familiar face. We as the audience know how easily he can break loose of any logical thought and restraint, which he does throughout but it happens so slowly and methodically we feel constant shivers long before the movie is over.
Gary Cole is also good and kinda funny as his frustrated boss Bill Owens. All of the performances range from good to excellent, but if it wasn't for Williams the movie wouldn't have as much meaning as it does. It makes you think about how dangerous loneliness can be, how important support from family or friends is. We don't want to end up like Sy, but we strongly pity people who turn out that way.
I was gonna rate this a 4.5, but this movie resonated with me so to such a point and made me think so much about it almost restlessly it's actually a full 5. Movies full of emotional torment are not the kind I like to rewatch too soon, but I'll always cherish and respect it fondly. It's possibly the most personal Williams has ever gotten.
One hour photo; referring to the time it usually takes for the photo developer Sy Parrish to get his customers' pictures printed.
Nowadays in the digital age, people rarely need to go to a photo developer. They still exist of course, but are not as popular as they used to be. Even at this time however, digital was starting to take its place. Bad news for Sy, as the slightest suggestion that the family he often develops photos for might go digital frightens him...
This movie completely blew me away. Robin Williams plays a character so nerve-wreckingly creepy, strange and pitiful that he gets under your skin so much he becomes real. That's some of my favorite kind of characters, where they feel so real that they almost start existing. I have no words for how layered his performance was. It would be so easy to just make a character straight-up creepy only, but the fact that you want to root for him even though you're worried at the same time he'll finally snap speaks volumes for how much he embraces this character. Sy is not a bad person, but he's still dangerous. He's compassionate, but also oddly disconnective. The Yorkin family (well, Nina and Jakob at least) like him, but they are not aware of just how much Sy really loves them, not only as customers, but like they were his own family members. The only times they get an idea of that is when he "jokily" refers to himself as Uncle Sy. When he does start to get a little too close to them, director/writer of this movie conveys it so subtly how they are pleased to see him, but at the same time they know something isn't quite right. Will Yorkin notices something odd about him right away, but doesn't think too much of him outside of just a "stranger". This is the core of the movie, the struggle of Sy trying to get something he can't have. It's almost immediately obvious he's close to them, but it's not enough. He wants to be more than just a nice familiar face. We as the audience know how easily he can break loose of any logical thought and restraint, which he does throughout but it happens so slowly and methodically we feel constant shivers long before the movie is over.
Gary Cole is also good and kinda funny as his frustrated boss Bill Owens. All of the performances range from good to excellent, but if it wasn't for Williams the movie wouldn't have as much meaning as it does. It makes you think about how dangerous loneliness can be, how important support from family or friends is. We don't want to end up like Sy, but we strongly pity people who turn out that way.
I was gonna rate this a 4.5, but this movie resonated with me so to such a point and made me think so much about it almost restlessly it's actually a full 5. Movies full of emotional torment are not the kind I like to rewatch too soon, but I'll always cherish and respect it fondly. It's possibly the most personal Williams has ever gotten.