One Hour Photo

One Hour Photo (2002)

Runtime: 96 minutes

Directed by: Mark Romanek

Starring: Robin Williams (RIP), Connie Nielsen, Michael Vartan, Dylan Smith, Gary Cole

From: Fox Searchlight Pictures

My apologies for this being up so late; things happened so I had to put this off. I will return Thursday night with two movies reviewed instead of one.

To tip my cap and pay tribute to Robin Williams I figured I had to watch one of his movies last night; it was hard figuring out which one to see but I decided to pick out this one as it was one I hadn't seen before and it is highly regarded in some circles. After the IMDb plot description, what I said about it on Letterboxd.

“An employee of a one-hour photo lab becomes obsessed with a young suburban family.”

Like everyone else I was gutted when I heard the news yesterday that Robin Williams had passed away. As I am someone in my early and nearing middle 30's I had seen more than a few of his movies in my lifetime and heck I even remember watching reruns of Mork & Mindy when I was real young. I am especially sad with how the death happened.

I figured I had to watch a film starring him last night so I did. I picked out one I hadn't seen before, one that wasn't a comedy and one that's highly regarded and this fit the bill. To be brief, Williams plays a rather awkward person who works at a one hour photo that's in a store I would describe as Walmart-esque. He is obsessed with the job and providing the best possible product for the people he serves. You feel bad for him once you see he's a lonely man with no friends or family and only has a hamster as a companion... until you realize he's a sociopath-to use a term a few people here used already, as it's apt-and is way too obsessed with the pictures brought in by family of a husband, wife and 9 year old boy who seem to lead an idyllic American life in the suburbs. I mean, I'd call “hanging the pictures of that family on the wall of his apartment and doing so for years” to be rather disturbed behavior.

The movie is well shot, directed, and scored (the latter aids in making you feel creeped out) but it's the performance of Robin Williams that makes the film. It's great. Even when he does some pretty horrid things, a small part of you still feels sympathy due to how he does lead a sad loner lifestyle & the situation itself, which is actually a little complicated and I dare not reveal it here for those that haven't seen this yet. Just know that if you enjoy your dark psychological thrillers then this is a must-see.

While I enjoyed his comedy and his comedic roles, I do wish that Robin would have made more films like this where he could have shown off his dramatic chops and played creepy disturbed people like he did here with the character of Sy Parrish. That said, I still tip my cap to him for all the entertainment he provided me and everyone else during his life.