classicsoncall Review of One Hour Photo

One Hour Photo (2002)

"No one ever takes a photograph of something they want to forget."

[7/10 · 14 October 2021]

You come to understand just how mentally unstable Robin Williams' character is, when Seymour Parrish returns home from work one evening and settles down to watch a little television. The cut to that full wall of pictures of the Yorkin family packs a gut blow to anyone who thinks Sy was just an overly friendly clerk at the local Savmart photo counter. His obsession played itself out in various ways, like reading the same book he spied in Mrs. Yorkin's (Connie Nielsen) possession, and watching son Jake's (Dylan Smith) soccer practice. I tried imagining the conversation he would have had with Jake's coach if the young boy hadn't told him not to bother; I would like to have seen that play out. I think it was Jake's refusal of the Neon Genesis figure that might have been Sy's turning point, a key moment that spurred him on to take things to the extreme he did. His obsession to become part of a family backfired to the extent that he virtually destroyed it. This was one of the times Robin Williams set aside his comic genius and decided to explore the mind of a psychopath in a creepy and chilling portrayal. To the extent that he brings out the shivers, you can be glad that his 'Uncle Sy' isn't part of your family.