There was always a lot of intrigue to find out what's been called one of Robin Williams's toughest roles and most horror-like movies, and, even after 18 years, it is a performance & story that holds up the chills and morals. "One Hour Photo" is an unexpectedly dark character study with considerable depth, anchored magnificently by Williams showing skilled hand at handling an atypical and eerie material, and a clean, almost uncomfortably sterile style direction by Mark Romanek.
Seymour Parrish, a mentally troubled photo developer has been obsessing over a middle-class American family whose paper memories he's been making, and the obsession is slowly getting more blind and disturbing than anyone would expect... Romanek, with this being his first (major) full feature, has done a great job. A story like this could've easily been a dime novel worthy obsession thriller to sink among better examples, but subtlety won over Romanek, and the approach he's taking commits to the movie's heavy atmosphere and bizarre nature. The utterly unpolluted, clean visual style reminded be of Kubrick, but more so of Yorgos Lanthimos films, like "The Killing of a Sacred Deer" and "Dogtooth". Around the middle and beginning of the third act, Romanek seems to lose the momentum in the story a bit, but the ending makes up for it. It's quite the flawed thriller, but undoubtedly a great drama. Sy "The Photo Guy" is whimsical before he's stone-cold, often disturbingly fearless, always craving of connection, filtering his life through the idea and philosophy of photography, hiding his hurts and thoughts deep down. Seymour Parrish could very well be Williams's finest performance, for the effort in probing such psyche really grips and impresses. Rest of the cast, from Connie Nielsen to Michael Vartan and Eriq La Salle, offer solid supporting performances. I'd also like to compliment Reinhold Heil & Johnny Klimek, the composers of the original score, which surprised me in its effectivity and how much it didn't remind me of the early 2000's.
SPOILER AHEAD: "One Hour Photo" actually reminded me of "Joker" quite a bit - both movies are about mentally troubled persons, both of whom are basically villains and also the by-a-margin dominant main characters of their respective movies, both of whom eventually commit heinous acts propelled by their traumatized minds, both of whom even end up in very similar places. What's my point? There isn't one, just a handful of similarities I noticed.
"One Hour Photo" is a flawed movie with a substantial and pitch-black character study, carried by an all-loved actor famous for much different roles, and carried so masterfully. 'Nough said. My rating: 8/10.
Seymour Parrish, a mentally troubled photo developer has been obsessing over a middle-class American family whose paper memories he's been making, and the obsession is slowly getting more blind and disturbing than anyone would expect... Romanek, with this being his first (major) full feature, has done a great job. A story like this could've easily been a dime novel worthy obsession thriller to sink among better examples, but subtlety won over Romanek, and the approach he's taking commits to the movie's heavy atmosphere and bizarre nature. The utterly unpolluted, clean visual style reminded be of Kubrick, but more so of Yorgos Lanthimos films, like "The Killing of a Sacred Deer" and "Dogtooth". Around the middle and beginning of the third act, Romanek seems to lose the momentum in the story a bit, but the ending makes up for it. It's quite the flawed thriller, but undoubtedly a great drama. Sy "The Photo Guy" is whimsical before he's stone-cold, often disturbingly fearless, always craving of connection, filtering his life through the idea and philosophy of photography, hiding his hurts and thoughts deep down. Seymour Parrish could very well be Williams's finest performance, for the effort in probing such psyche really grips and impresses. Rest of the cast, from Connie Nielsen to Michael Vartan and Eriq La Salle, offer solid supporting performances. I'd also like to compliment Reinhold Heil & Johnny Klimek, the composers of the original score, which surprised me in its effectivity and how much it didn't remind me of the early 2000's.
SPOILER AHEAD: "One Hour Photo" actually reminded me of "Joker" quite a bit - both movies are about mentally troubled persons, both of whom are basically villains and also the by-a-margin dominant main characters of their respective movies, both of whom eventually commit heinous acts propelled by their traumatized minds, both of whom even end up in very similar places. What's my point? There isn't one, just a handful of similarities I noticed.
"One Hour Photo" is a flawed movie with a substantial and pitch-black character study, carried by an all-loved actor famous for much different roles, and carried so masterfully. 'Nough said. My rating: 8/10.