At times brilliant, at times kind of dumb, One Hour Photo has to huge constants: it's weird as hell and Robin Williams is great. Williams is Oscar-worthy, in fact. Why the hell can he suddenly not act for beans? He's really creepy and obsessive, but along with that, you kind of feel for him. He likes his little job at the photo developing stand in this Wal-Martesque superstore. The thing is, he mainly likes the job so he can stalk this family he admires.
The movie is at its best when Sy, played by Williams, tries to do little subtle actions to get involved with this "perfect family" (though that title couldn't be farther from the truth). He reads the same books as the mom does to spur conversation. He shows up at the little boy's soccer practice (now that was weird). He daydreams about taking a shit on the toilet in this family's house. He has this desperate longing to be Uncle Sy.
So that's why you feel for him. He has nobody. He's mentally unstable. So why not become an uncle to a random family that consistently shops at your store?
The film has a very sterile feel to it. Very...white? Which was perfect. I mean, I loved the direction in this film by Mark Romanek. He brought the perfect tone for this movie and made Williams' character extremely complex. He loved to play around with the camera, which at times could border on annoying. Some really good shots, though.
The second half of the film got a little messy and over-the-top, but still entertaining and more and more sick-and-twisted. The ending is kind of confusing and "up to you to decide!", which alway kind of pisses me off.
A ***1/2 film. Highly recommended. A very Hitchcockian thriller.
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1 comment:
i watched this as a fifth grader not knowing what to expect and it sure left an impression. i couldnt get around to seeing the climax considering it was quite provocative and my parents in a timely fashion entered the room. but i must say, watching williams consistently play goofy roles then witnessing some incredibly good acting in this surprised me which caused me to set new standards for him. then he went back to playing family comedies.... it was good and i have to watch it once more to understand the sloppiness youre talking about..
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