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One Hour
Photo |
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Stars: Robin Williams, Connie Nielson, Michael Vartan, Dylan smith, Eriq LaSalle, Gary Cole
Director: Mark Romanik
Rated: R
Score: 8/10 |
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Sy works at a one hour photo lab in one of those suburban shopping malls. He loves his work, and considers it an art of perfection. Photographs capture the most important people and moments in our lives, and we cherish them so even tho he knows others perceive him as unimportant, he feels he plays a vital role in people's lives. Sy is obsessed with the idea of a picture perfect family, that he works hard to preserve that perfection in their photographs. He's developed a love of the Yorkin family. He develops their pictures right away, gives them 5x10 at no extra charge, and even makes an extra set of prints....for himself. |
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| Main Attraction |
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| Box Office |
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| The Rest of It |
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Robin Williams plays a chilling role in "One Hour Photo", as lately his roles have been dark and complex. He's lonely with no family, friends or life of his own and daydreams that he is part of the Yorkin family. He's watched their son grow up since he was a baby through developing their film, in fact a wall in his apartment is a mural of snapshots of the Yorkin family. It doesn't seem like a jealousy factor with the wife (Nielson), he seems to be living a fantasy of something he never had. A happy life.
But after his boss (Gary Cole) discovers that there are some problems with his work (apparently lots of extra prints run up with no matching on the receipts) he fires him. This devistates Sy, the only interaction he has with the Yorkin's is through the photo-lab. He knows all about his customers, imagine how much power your photo lab man has in seeing every detail of your life. But when a set of pictures come in that shows betrayal of Mr. Yorkin to his wife, it sets him off. His idea of the "Picture perfect" family is imperfect. Sy, begins to go pSY-cho. |
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There were some really interesting aspects about this film. Williams is great, very cold but you feel a disturbing empathy for him...even tho something is not quite right. One scene shows him in a pristine empty white dream and his eyes are red. I pondered over this meaning for some time. The opening and ending scene show him against a clean white background (resembling the blank paper a picture is printed on) |
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It seems to depict how empty his own life is that he has to fill it up with images of the fantasy of someone elses "perfect" life. And tthe red-eye effect we often see in photographs is disturbing. Nocturnal hunting animals have red-eye if enough light is cast on it, it seems primitive. That the ones we're supposed to trust and love can become the predetor, and we the victim in their lives. Sy's childhood was obviously negative, and the camera was the weapon. We never photograph the worst moments of our lives, we want to forget them. And so thumbing through photo-albums is a distorted interpretation of our lives, of how we'd like to remember our life but maybe not how it really was for everyone. We keep the picture, but we often discard the negatives. That goes without saying.
Sy begins to focus on a greater objective that eventually leads to the films climax, and honestly has you on the edge of your seat. He seems always especially concerned about their young son, looking out for him. And when he takes his first pictures with a new camera and Sy develops them he see's something familiar. Loneliness, a sign that maybe things aren't entirely perfect. He is such a perfectionist that he believes everything must be touched up and corrected. This carries over too far. It doesn't develop the way we anticipate, but it leaves alot of food for thought. A very clever film with something to say. |
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"If these pictures have anything important to say to future generations, it's this:
I was here
I existed!
I was young, I was happy and someone cared enough about me in this world...
to take my picture." |
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