One Hour Photo

One Hour Photo explodes a few myths. Firstly, Robin Williams will no longer be associated solely with wacky weepies. Secondly, it refutes the increasingly common belief that, although actually quite good in small doses (see Good Will Hunting (1997), The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1988), or a twenty minute episode of Mork and Mindy), his aggressive need to improvise demands far too much from an audiences over a full-length feature. Thirdly, this is a rare example of a film with a decent plot, interesting direction and a compelling central performance that somehow manages to be rather unengaging.

Sy Parrish (Williams) works for a mall's photo developing lab. While taking undue care in processing customers' snapshots, he religiously makes extra copies of one regular family's exposures. The plot is partly borrowed from Thomas Harris' Red Dragon novel although Sy's obsession with this vision of suburban perfection is relatively innocent compared to that of the Tooth Fairy serial killer. That is until Sy's humdrum life and fantasy aspiration are both shaken by two discoveries. His boss (Gary Cole) knows that he is making too many reproductions and that Daddy Yorkin is having an affair.

One Hour Photo is every Film Studies student's wet dream. Every image is loaded with meaning so obvious that an essay on mise-en-scène practically writes itself. The best shocks of the film come from the metaphorical images Mark Romanek uses for family and perception within his fantasy sequences. For example, Sy's eyes exploding with blood (or perhaps developer fluid) in a barren white shopping aisle is a popcorn-dropping punctuation mark to the second act. You don't need me to spell out the connotations of this effective flash-cut, as it is so potent as to warrant iconic status. The problem with this lack of visual subtlety is that it grows tiresome rather quickly.

The wall of aspiration created from stolen photos of the Yorkin's forces home the short-comings of Sy as a functioning human being with creepy aplomb. While the star role is an unusual but creditable avatar, given extra colour (albeit beige) by Williams' against the grain down-playing, the furry funny man's sterling work has nothing to bounce off of. The other characters are as flat as the photos in Sy's illicit mural. This may very well be intentional but it hobbles the film's drama and thriller aspects. A poor attempt at an emotional family argument between the adult Yorkins on the consumer items they own is blatantly didactic. Yes, these people come straight out of an Ikea catalogue, no wonder Sy aspires to belong with them. It is more important for Romanek that they match their sofa and curtains than garner our sympathy.

Ultimately, the initially clever concept overrides everything else. No avenues of entertainment or developed thought come to life, the immaculately arranged frames merely gurgle with a stillborn beauty until the running time expires. Unfortunately, One Hour Photo can be filed away with Eyes Wide Shut (1999) and Fifteen Minutes (2001) under "Potentially Fantastic Cinema That Mistakes Style For Substance."

Reviewed by Bob Carroll