One Hour Photo

Viewer Rating:John S has rated One Hour Photo rating: 4 Star

Seymour 'SY' Parrish (academy award winner Robin Williams) has been working in photograph development for twenty years, and in a particular suburban store 'SavMart' for close to ten. He is obsessed with 'snapshots' and in particular those of local family The Yorkins. Having no family or friends of hiw own, Sy dreams of being part of this family,and feels he knows them after developing pictures of them for the last nine years. Sy's obsession is doubled when he discovers a secret about Will Yorkin (Micheal Vartan) and when he is fired from his job his stress takes over. A deep and disturbing psychological thriller directed masterfully by Mark Romanek. Williams gives a fantastic performance, a step beyond Mrs.Doubtfire and Good morning Vietnam. For any doubters this film proves the top quality acting capability of Williams. The story is basic enough but its delivery to the viewer is captivating, exciting and thrilling. Fantastic use of colour, sound and framing brings us inside the mind of the deluded Sy. The film allows the viewer to answer questions for him/herself, who is the bad guy? Why are the events which unfold doing so? This leaves a great taste long after the credits have rolled, you sit there and make your own conclusions, for me thats far better than seeing a definitie conclusion on the screen. Other directors also see the benefits with this style, most notably and recently Darren Aronofsky who brough us the immense 'The Wrestler'. One hour photo is a great film, and its quality is bolstered by two particular factors-Robin Williams' give the performance of an already well decorated career, and Mark Romaneks' direction makes the journey all the more interesting for the already captivated viewer. Verdict- Excellent.

Review published on the 27 February 2009 23:10