One-Hour Photo – In Williams, an Actor is Being Redeveloped
If you've ever ventured over to the SavMart to develop some film, you've probably met Sy the Photo Guy. He's the one who welcomes you with a syrupy voice, smiles at you while seemingly casting judgment, and tries irritatingly hard to get to know you. You know who he is, right? Or perhaps you just ignore him let Sy (Robin Williams) blend into the background like the music that is played over the speaker system. Yet, while we may not notice him, he certainly notices who his customers are. He has some peculiar thoughts about every one of them.
There's the claims adjuster who brings in photos of automobile accidents, there's the eccentric lady who takes pictures of nothing but her cats, and there's the young swinger that snaps pornographic material for his own sordid pleasure. However, our photo technician has taken an immense yet creepy interest in the Yorkin family. He's been developing their film for many years, and Sy, who handles each picture as if they were his own, has developed some kind of attraction for them. The Yorkin's photos are full of vivid color, endless smiles, happy emotions, and represent a life that Sy wishes that he could be a part. When he chats with Mrs. Yorkin (Connie Nielsen), he jokes that he considers himself Uncle Sy. She doesn't seem amused.
"One Hour Photo" is a psychological drama about Sy, who slowly develops an unhealthy admiration for the Yorkin's. He wishes very hard to be a part of their lives, making Sy quite a chilling kook. He is a simmering pot of resentment and loneliness. His environment is absolutely colorless. He works in a big box store in which the interior is bathed in a soft white light that makes everything appear out-of-focus and dreary. Fluorescent lighting never looked so forbidding
Meanwhile, his workplace, which requires a lab coat and protective gloves, is sterile. His outfit is nondescript, he drives a boring white car, and he eats alone in a diner where no one talks to him. There is a need for him to breakout in some way.
His only bright spot seems to be photos that he has seen, and in some cases, in which he has made extra reprints for himself to freeze those colorful moments. But when the Yorkin's fairy tale world (and his fantasy) unravels in front of Sy, it creates a spigot for him to release his repressed self. Now, we see what's brimming beneath that smile, and it isn't pretty. Couple his rising anguish with an ominous soundtrack reminiscent of abandoned carnivals or broken music boxes, and a feeling of dread begins to rise.
Robin Williams has graduated from his days as a jester and brings to the screen a disturbing performance that will make us think twice about where we go to develop our photos as well as possibly catch the attention of Oscar voters. He's been working hard to retool his image as an actor of substance and not of saccharine. And although he was largely dismissed in "Death to Smoochie" and unfairly overlooked in the engrossing "Insomnia," Williams has found a role to showcase his dramatic and dark abilities.
Grade: B S: 2 out of 3 L: 2 out of 3 V: 1 out of 3
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