One Hour Photo 2002 Film Starring Robin Williams

Photo Mini-Lab Worker Sy Becomes Obsessed with the 'Perfect Family'

Sep 22, 2009

Sy becomes fixated on the happiness of a perfect family, his obsession with them becomes increasingly dangerous when he discovers that the father is having an affair.

Photographic developer Sy Parrish is a lonely man who is obsessed with a family whom he believes to be the perfect family. He desires to be one of their family but to them he is simply the guy at the store who develops their pictures.

Seymour "Sy" Parrish (Robin Williams) is a mini-lab photo technician who works in SavMart’s one hour photo in suburban Los Angeles. Outside of work he is isolated, living a depressing and lonely life. He works tirelessly to make sure that his customers have the best possible quality photographs as he believes that each picture captures a happy moment, a moment that people wish to preserve.

Amongst his most regular customers are Yorkin family. Husband Will (Michael Vartan), wife Nina (Connie Nielsen), and their only child Jake (Dylan Smith). Over the years that he has been watching the family through their photographs and has become obsessed with their happiness and affluence. He stalks them and secretly makes copies of all of their photos which he hangs on his wall of his apartment. He fanaticises about being a member of their family and being a part of their happiness.

Sy’s behaviour becomes increasingly unstable after he discovers that Will is having an affair and his view of the ‘perfect’ family is shattered. His obsession becomes more dangerous as he targets Will, a man Sy believes has everything he desires, and yet does not care about his wife or child.

Robin Williams in a Straight Role

Fans of Robin Williams will probably be familiar with him from comedy films like Mrs Doubtfire and Jack, also providing the voice for the Genie in Aladdin. However, in One Hour Photo he is almost unrecognisable. There is nothing funny about his portrayal of the lonely and obsessed Sy.

Writer and Director Mark Romanek is able to get a fantastic performance from Williams, but he also creates a terrifying situation from the mundane. Everybody has taken photographs to a developers, and it is unlikely that the thought that the person developing those pictures might be seeing into an idyllic life. A life that they would envy. Someone with an obsession is a very dangerous person, and Romanek shows how Sy came to be obsessed with a family who have everything that he desires yet cannot have.

Jake believes that Sy is sad and his mother is touched by his concern. However she assures him that Sy is probably very happy with a wife or girlfriend, and probably has lots of friends outside of his job. Nina views Sy as being the guy who works at the mini-lab and is perfectly happy to chat to him whilst she is dropping off a film but aside from that he doesn’t cross her mind.

Williams is very creepy as Sy and shows that his obsession has consumed his life. The Yorkin Family represent everything that he wants, and seem to be happy together. Later as One Hour Photo develops he becomes determined to destroy Will Yorkin for engaging in an affair and risking everything that he is so fortunate to have. The music score adds to the tension and Sy’s behaviour becomes increasingly unstable.

One Hour Photo is a tense thriller in which Williams delivers a very unnerving performance.

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