Well this movie proves one thing - `Insomnia' was not a one-off for Robin Williams. He's capable of doing dark roles and doing them very well. In `One Hour Photo' he plays Seymour Parrish, a photo developer, who becomes obsessed with pictures, and the family, of one his clients. How far will this obsession go?
Well I won't spend an age talking about the plot. There's not too much there - more a gradual decline by Seymour as his obsession with the Yorkins grows. There's an element of Yorkin being crazy - having visions. The photos of course act as a tool - showing how Seymour can only relate to people from a distance, contemplating from afar. There's a great sadness in them. Much of this is helped by an excellent performance by Robin Williams. He carries Seymour with a great sadness in him - in his eyes, his posture, and the lines on his face. Even when angry, you can see Williams is showing that the anger is directed not so much at the person in front of him, but at the ghosts of his past. This movie is essentially about Williams and that's one of the problems. No one else really gets a look in. Sure we see the Yorkins but we mostly only see them through Seymour. We don't ever really get to know them and so we cannot empathise with them as Seymour's obsession grows. It's a flaw but it's not a killing blow.
Mark Romanek, who wrote and directed, shows some nice skill with the set-up of scenes. Seymour is decked out in light colours - typically cream. Dressed blandly and inoffensively, he blends into the dull workplace and home. He doesn't want to be seen. He also allows a bit of humour into the movie, with Seymour's wonderful discourse about his customers' photo habits. It not only alleviates the tension in a generally downbeat movie, but allows Seymour to become than the brooding-weirdo cliché. The movie is structured in a relatively conventional scene, recounted in flashback form with Seymour at the police station. It allows the audience to wonder how he got there - and is it for the reasons we think. The final few minutes are very satisfying as a result.
`One Hour Photo' is very character based and succeeds because of (and not in spite of) Robin Williams' performance. You cannot help but feel sympathy for this man and watch with sadness as his tale unfolds. Shot well, scripted with enough care that you are left bored, it's a movie that - while not maybe worthy of many viewings - is certainly worth seeing. 7.5/10.
Well I won't spend an age talking about the plot. There's not too much there - more a gradual decline by Seymour as his obsession with the Yorkins grows. There's an element of Yorkin being crazy - having visions. The photos of course act as a tool - showing how Seymour can only relate to people from a distance, contemplating from afar. There's a great sadness in them. Much of this is helped by an excellent performance by Robin Williams. He carries Seymour with a great sadness in him - in his eyes, his posture, and the lines on his face. Even when angry, you can see Williams is showing that the anger is directed not so much at the person in front of him, but at the ghosts of his past. This movie is essentially about Williams and that's one of the problems. No one else really gets a look in. Sure we see the Yorkins but we mostly only see them through Seymour. We don't ever really get to know them and so we cannot empathise with them as Seymour's obsession grows. It's a flaw but it's not a killing blow.
Mark Romanek, who wrote and directed, shows some nice skill with the set-up of scenes. Seymour is decked out in light colours - typically cream. Dressed blandly and inoffensively, he blends into the dull workplace and home. He doesn't want to be seen. He also allows a bit of humour into the movie, with Seymour's wonderful discourse about his customers' photo habits. It not only alleviates the tension in a generally downbeat movie, but allows Seymour to become than the brooding-weirdo cliché. The movie is structured in a relatively conventional scene, recounted in flashback form with Seymour at the police station. It allows the audience to wonder how he got there - and is it for the reasons we think. The final few minutes are very satisfying as a result.
`One Hour Photo' is very character based and succeeds because of (and not in spite of) Robin Williams' performance. You cannot help but feel sympathy for this man and watch with sadness as his tale unfolds. Shot well, scripted with enough care that you are left bored, it's a movie that - while not maybe worthy of many viewings - is certainly worth seeing. 7.5/10.