'3BlackChicks Review...'
ONE HOUR PHOTO (2002) Rated R; running time 95 minutes Studio: Fox Searchlight Genre: Thriller Seen at: Celebration Cinema (Lansing, Michigan) Official site: http://www.foxsearchlight.com/onehourphoto/ IMDB site: http://us.imdb.com/Details?0265459 Written by: Mark Romanek Directed by: Mark Romanek Cast: Robin Williams, Connie Nielsen, Michael Vartan, Dylan Smith, Gary Cole, Eriq La Salle, Erin Daniels
Review Copyright Rose Cooper, 2002 Review URL: http://www.3blackchicks.com/2002reviews/bams1hourphoto.html
For hours after watching ONE HOUR PHOTO, I was unsure of how I felt about this strange and disturbing "thriller". Yes, I was creeped-out, but "thrilled"? I didn't really think so, not at first. That lack of surety quickly vanished when I went to the movie's website - and in looking at nothing but the character Sy's eyes, I realized that in the 95 minutes of watching this movie, I never once noticed Robin Williams, Actor, staring back at me.
THE STORY (WARNING: **spoilers contained below**) ONE HOUR PHOTO tells the deceptively simple, yet incredibly complex tale of Seymour 'Sy' Parrish (Robin Williams), a mild-mannered clerk (or as he would want to be known, Photo Technician). Sy puts his all into helping his customers Celebrate The Moments Of Their Lives, by meticulously, almost lovingly, bringing the photographs his customers bring him, to full bloom. Regardless to what his overseer...er, manager Bill Owens (Gary Cole) might think, for Sy, it's not just a job; it's a *calling*.
And no family has made Sy heed the calling more than the Yorkins. After developing their pictures over many years, Sy feels like he knows Nina (Connie Nielsen), Will (Michael Vartan) and their son Jake (Dylan Smith) as if they were family. For Sy, though, there's no "as if" to it. While Sy has inserted himself - literally and figuratively - into the Yorkin's lives as a shadow lurking in the background, Nina and Jake have almost treated him like the family pet. No, make that, a neighborhood stray; you'd put treats out for the poor mutt because you felt sorry for him, but you'd never invite him in. Thing is, Sy wants to be invited in. Desperately.
THE UPSHOT My reaction to ONE HOUR PHOTO, was like the feeling you get in your gut after you've been sucker-punched: you may not notice the full impact at first, but soon enough, you realize the wind has been knocked out of you. This delayed reaction made me bolt upright and exclaim "dayam!", to no one at all. That, my friends, is the sign of a good movie, regardless of the genre in which it is categorized.
For as much grief as he has been given by some, Robin Williams sho'nuff knows how to play Creepy Guy. Yes, he's done it before; most recently in INSOMNIA. But what I appreciated most about his performance in PHOTO is that I never noticed Williams under Sy's mask. It wasn't just the makeup and "old man" wig, either; Williams completely immersed himself in the role of a man for whom a perception of his lack of being a threat, made him all the more dangerous. That takes skill, and in that, Williams deserves every one of the props he's been getting for this performance.
If Williams had given an over-the-top performance, it would be easy for the other actors to be left behind in his wake. But with Williams being more subtle in his power, other characters were allowed to share center stage with him, with much of the same "we're not really Acting" groove that Williams offered up. Connie Nielsen and Dylan Smith, in particular, were very convincing as a suburban mom and son so caught up in their suburban lifestyle that they didn't realize that Uncle Sy Was Watching; convincing, to the point where PHOTO almost felt like a docudrama at times. And if Michael Vartan, Gary Cole, and Eriq La Salle (Detective Van Der Zee) seemed a bit out-of-place here, it's only because their roles seem to be made-for-TV by comparison.
If there was a problem with this film, it's in the two big leaps of logic that eventually lead to Sy going from mild-mannered, harmless employee to...well, I won't spoil it for you, but you can put two and two together. Given all the bad things I've heard about the real-life chain the fictional "Sav-Mart" is based on [I won't name names, but if I mumbled something like "waaaaahllll", would I get an amen?] I really wouldn't be surprised to see much more of this mind-bending of mild-mannered store clerks. But to the extent, undetected for so many years, that ONE HOUR PHOTO would have us believe? Nah. Um...I hope.
Kudos to writer/director Mark Romanek for resisting the Obvious Plot Twist, until the end, anyway. Even then, he can be forgiven that sin; after all, it must've taken quite a lot to tame the wild child that is Robin Williams. I reckon it would've been too much to expect complete subtlety. Still, especially for the payoff scene that's been getting so much buzz, Romanek and Williams made the trip through Sy's tripped-out mind, very much worth it.
BAMMER'S BOTTOM LINE Forgive the bad pun, but ONE HOUR PHOTO developed into an interesting, disturbing film - even if it took awhile for the picture to come into focus. I'll tell you one thing, though: I think I'm going to invest in a digital camera...
ONE HOUR PHOTO rating: greenlight
Rose "Bams" Cooper Webchick and Editor, 3BlackChicks Review Entertainment Reviews With Flava! Copyright Rose Cooper, 2002 EMAIL: bams@3blackchicks.com http://www.3blackchicks.com/
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