ONE HOUR PHOTO (2002) 3 stars out of 4. Starring Robin Williams, Connie Nielsen, Michael Vartan, Dylan Smith, Gary Cole and Eriq LaSalle. Written and directed by Mark Romanek. Rated R. Running time: 98 minutes.
You may not realize it, but you've encountered people like Sy Parrish.
They work routine, mind-numbing jobs in service industries, flashing practiced plastic smiles, talking warmly to you. They cook your fast-food hamburger, sell you that quart of milk you ran out of late at night or process your vacation or birthday party photos.
But what do those smiles mask? Who are these people, really?
These questions may flash through your mind as you watch One Hour Photo, a creepy thriller in which Robin Williams continues his recent run of playing anti-social misfits who make your flesh crawl.
Williams' Sy Parrish is the photo developer at Savmart. For years he has been handling the snapshots of the Yorkins, a typical family on whom he has developed an obsession. It has spiraled to the point where Sy considers himself part of the family - even though the Yorkins barely know he exists.
One Hour Photo moves slowly, leisurely building suspense as it teases you with peeks into Sy's world. Unfortunately, a few problems beset the movie. It raises many questions, but gives few answers. Uppermost is why the Yorkins? What drove Sy Parrish to select this one particular family over all the others whose photos he has finished?
Some may say it's not important, but once you enter Sy's world, it raises the bar as to why he fixated on the Yorkins.
The one question for which an answer is revealed - motive - disappoints. Shot in a style reminiscent of the closing moments of Psycho's Norman Bates sitting in his bare, white room, Sy's confession comes across as clichéd and trite, more a plot device than a true revelation.
One Hour Photo is a faint echo of a forgotten gem from 1987 entitled The Stepfather, in which a meek-looking man strives to create the perfect family. To do so, he woos and marries widows with children, and when they fail to live up to his expectations - as most individuals do - he kills them.
While Sy is not that psychotic, he does bask in the reflection of what he considers the Yorkins ideal life. He keeps duplicate sets of their family photos for himself, showing pictures of 9-year-old Jakob Yorkin to the waitress at the restaurant where he dines, telling her he's Jake's favorite Uncle Sy.
Parrish has created an entire fantasy life in which his life and the Yorkins are intertwined.
But all that comes crashing down when Sy discovers a secret that shatters his illusions about the family; one that unhinges his delicate mental balance.
Williams has created a figure both feared and pitied in Sy Parrish. His Sy treads softly through the world, observing much, but saying little.
Young Jake sums it up best when, early in the film, he tells his mother that he feels sorry for Sy because he senses the man is very lonely.
Williams walks through the film as if toting a 100-pound bag of pain. His attempts at ingratiating himself into the Yorkin family are embarrassing and pathetic.
One Hour Photo is his movie. He overshadows the rest of the cast, including Connie Nielsen and Michael Vartan as Nina and Will Yorkin, and Dylan Smith as Jake.
Writer-director Mark Romanek shows a restraint in his take on Sy. He has created a dangerous individual, and leaves you in suspense as just how menacing Sy can become.
One Hour Photo is a nail-biter that fails to sustain its momentum to the finish. Despite lagging near the finish line, the movie runs a good race, one that will have you at the edge of your seat for long stretches.
Bob Bloom is the film critic at the Journal and Courier in Lafayette, IN. He can be reached by e-mail at bloomjc@yahoo.com or at bobbloom@iquest.net. Other reviews by Bloom can be found at www.jconline.com by clicking on golafayette. Bloom's reviews also appear on the Web at the Rottentomatoes Web site, www.rottentomatoes.com and at the Internet Movie Database: http://www.imdb.com/M/reviews_by?Bob+Bloom
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