For
the majority of its running time, One Hour Photo maintains an atmosphere
of sheer discomfort; evoking the same uneasiness people experience during
blind-dates. Its eerily slow pace, dragging us deep into the disturbed psyche of
photo developer Sy Parish (Robin Williams), allows for intense character
development that has rarely been seen in film since movies like The Conversation.
And in that respect, it’s an unapologetic character study that never fully
determines whether its protagonist is a child molester, slithering stalker, or
just straight loony. Its refusal to compromise on character motives, never
giving anything more than subtle hints, allows audiences to come up with their
own conclusions, which is more chilling than bleeding eyeballs - - an image
writer-director Mark Romanek inserts as one of Sy’s nightmares.
It’s
difficult imagining One Hour Photo without the mild-mannered Robin
Williams as lead, delivering the most effective performance of his career. With
dyed blonde hair and an emotionless, robotic facial expression, he’s one of
the few known celebrities that could help audiences sympathize with the
misunderstood Sy, a man who takes a tad much pride in his duties as the SavMart photo
developer. The highlights of Sy’s otherwise lonely life are the days when Nina
Yorkin (Connie Nielsen) drops off her rolls of film. Sy envies the Yorkins' wholesome
family life, which isn’t as picture perfect as our narrator envisions in
hysterical dream sequences. Will (Michael Vartan), chief Yorkin, isn’t as
charming as depicted in photographs; he’s actually a neglectful husband and
father. And once the unbalanced Sy discovers this revelation, in picture form of
course, he’s overcome with the need to avenge this injustice, like Travis
Bickle in Taxi Driver. What helpful customer
service.
Making
the transformation from helming music videos, such as the costly Michael and
Janet Jackson collaboration (Scream), Romanek switches to feature-length
filmmaking with ease. His debut is taut, managing to create suspense from
uncomfortable silences. The camera never demands attention; rather it serves as
an observing lens.
Romanek doesn’t limit his film to
well-assembled shots, but adds refreshing takes on standard “thriller” genre
clichés. When Sy flips through some of the Yorkins’ photos in a diner, a waitress asks if the folks in the pics are his family members. Sy,
being the delusional loner he is, tells her they are indeed his kin. In a
conventional thriller, the Yorkin family would later eat dinner at the same
restaurant and be serviced by the same waitress, who would tell them she knows
their Uncle Sy, which would sound quite suspicious since Will and Nina only know
him as “Sy the photo guy.”
GRADE: A-
-Copyright
by
Shaun Sages