One Hour Photo (2002)
Note: Some
spoilers, although I've tried not to include any.
This film is too good to be spoiled by a review, yet
to discuss it fully, some incidents must be referenced.
Glossy, perfectly framed, austere
and creepy, "One Hour Photo" is like a family snapshot
in reverse. This is a film so structured, so encapsulated,
so perfect down to the most minute of details, that
it becomes the antithesis of living and breathing.
It is hollow, disturbing and devoid of life. It is
an implosion of an empty lung, an empty chest cavity,
a sterile image captured for eternity in the frame.
"One Hour Photo" is dark, disturbing,
muted yet colorful. Director Mark Romanek brings us
a world of florescent lights which wash out all colors
but blue, white and grey. Life only has vivid colors
in the snapshots of the characters' lives. Even this,
though, seems hollow and contrived. The characters'
live in the architecturally structured houses with
their interiors usually designed for the glossy pages
of magazines, or the austere stylings of independent
films. Note that, although there is some muted red
here and there, the rich color only appears, and vividly
overwhelms the screen, twice in the film. Red is life;
it is blood. There is no red here except twice when
it floods the screen.
Robin Williams is masterful as Sy,
the photo booth clerk at a Wal-Mart-like store in
anytown. He is a perfectionist in his job. The photos
that he develops for his clients are as important
to him as any work of art. But Sy has a history and
a secret life that no one could ever imagine. He has
become obsessed with one particular family whose photos
he develops frequently. When the family's photos,
and the photos of one other important character, begin
telling secrets, Sy's world begins to crumble.
Romanek also writes the script here
and it is fascinating. He crafts just enough subtlety
and honesty in the script to make the film's plot
and dialogue work magically. There are moments here
that might be overwrought or ridiculous if one were
not careful but Romanek, and his marvellous cast,
keep everything pitch perfect. It will be a real surprise
if Williams is not remembered come awards time early
next year. Romanek too. This may be the film that
sweeps the Independent Spirit Awards. It's that good.
It is well-written and perfectly lensed and the performances
are that impressive.
Romanek is a former music video
director, this being his first feature, so it is no
surprise that his use of music here is effective and
nearly perfect. There are numerous scenes here where
the wonderful score by Reinhold Heil and Johnny Klimek
strike such perfect symbiosis with the visuals that
the film becomes flawlessly cohesive. Intense, austere
and minimalist, the score is the perfect accentuation
of the film.
"One Hour Photo" isn't a mystery.
It isn't a thriller. It isn't a drama. It's a creepy
and disturbing film that causes us to examine just
one layer below the surface of our lives. It causes
us to question the random, seemingly inconsequential
people in our lives. It makes us feel vulnerable in
a world that allows us to be feel free, based on freedoms
we take for granted. And when the harrowing and troublesome
"crime," the climax, takes place in this film, it
doesn't exceed reality nor does it capture it. Rather
it digs ever so slightly, just below the surface,
to reach a dark and excruciating place that we'd much
rather not see exposed. The sadness here isn't that
life ends, that someone dies, but rather that life
continues and one continues to go on, after having
been wounded and harmed seemingly beyond repair.
Note:
Also with Eriq La Salle, Gary Cole,
Connie Neilsen, Michael Vartan and Dylan Smith.
Clips from "The Simpsons" and "The
Day the Earth Stood Still" are used.
