Robin Williamsis one of the funniest actors who ever lived, first finding fame on the TV seriesMork & Mindy, beforetransitioning to becoming a major Hollywood film starwith roles in the likes ofGood Morning, Vietnam,Hook,Mrs. Doubtfire, andJumanji. Williams was a wild ball of bouncing energy like we’d never seen, but that doesn’t mean he wasn’t able to slow down and do serious roles as well. (Hewon the Best Supporting Actor OscarforGood Will Hunting, after all.) A few times, even though it was difficult to watch, the man who made millions smile even played the villain. He was great as a serial killer inChristopher Nolan’sInsomniain 2002. Also coming out in 2002, just three months later, was another terrifying role from Williams, one made so unnerving because of the actor’s restraint. InMark Romanek’sOne Hour Photo,Williams plays a man obsessed with a family, slowly losing his mind. It went against everything we expected from him, which is exactly why it works.
One Hour Photo
One Hour Photo is a psychological thriller that delves into the unsettling life of Sy Parrish, a lonely photo technician at a suburban discount store. Consumed by his fixation on the Yorkin family, whose photos he has developed for years, Sy fantasizes about being part of their seemingly perfect life. As his obsession intensifies, he uncovers disturbing secrets about the family, driving him to take drastic and alarming actions.
Robin Williams Established a Reputation as a High Energy Comedian
Robin Williams got his start in entertainment, unsurprisingly, as a stand-up comedian. Williams received attention not by being just another guy who did simple setups and punchlines, but because he used his body and improvisation to tell a story. He became a household name in the late ’70s and early ’80s as the alien Mork in the ABC sitcomMork & Mindy. Williams was pure energetic chaos, andthe role led to an Emmy nomination in 1979.
Williams carried that kinetic energy into a film career withPopeyein 1980. He became known for his larger-than-life personality in comedies, but he also showed that he could step back. Williams wasn’t an uncontrollable man simply searching for laughs, but a talented actor.He showed that withDead Poets Society,The World According to Garp,Awakenings, andThe Fisher King. Robin Williams could seamlessly go from comedy to drama, but what about playing a disturbing villain? With how lovable and joyful he was, you would have thought the idea impossible, but it’s not a large jump from comedy to horror.
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Both genres are all about an emotional response and how you react to an over-the-top situation. Do you laugh or do you scream?Mrs. Doubtfire, for example, is a sweet family film about a newly divorced man wanting to see the kids he misses, so he dresses up as a nanny to get back in their lives. Williams is at his comedic best in the role, but make a few tonal changes, and you have a horror film about an obsessed psychopath. How would it play out in real life if a man dressed up as someone else and lived under a false identity to trick his family?
‘One Hour Photo’ Is Scary Because It’s So Realistic
Williams was great as a comedic actor, but by the late ’90s, with movies likeJack, he had the potential of becoming a parody of himself if he wasn’t careful. He seemed to understand this, doing more and more serious roles to success, but the ultimate challenge came with two similar films in 2002. Two decades ago, director Christopher Nolan was a director on the rise when he helmedInsomnia, a film about a detective (Al Pacino) searching for a serial killer (Williams) in Alaska.Williams is effortlessly believable as Walter Finch, but as good as he is, it’s a supporting part, with Pacino’s Will Dormer the lead. A few months later, though, inOne Hour Photo, it’s Robin Williams at the center for the entire runtime. He’s not a man being looked for, but one who is already found and right in front of us.
One Hour Photocame out at the perfect time, right as our technology was on the precipice of a huge changethat we couldn’t come back from. The internet was still growing and cell phones weren’t everywhere, so rather than taking pictures with a phone, we had to use a camera and then take the film to the local grocery store to get them developed. In 2002, we still had to wait for our photos, but we also got to hold them in our hands afterward. When you think about it closely, though, there is an eerie thought to comprehend. Someone is getting paid to look at all of those personal photos. What do they think when they see them?
One Hour Photoexplores that in the darkest of ways, withRobin Williams playing Sy, a sad, very lonely man who works at a one-hour photo. His job is his life, and not just that, it’s his customers who are his life. He has no family of his own, so he obsesses about the families he sees in the snapshots he goes through every day. He begins to think that he is part of these families, and one in particular, the Yorkins (the parents are played byConnie NielsenandMichael Vartan), will have to fight back when he tries to ingrain himself into their actual lives. Sy is seeking this perfect, Norman Rockwell-like life, and doesn’t notice how intrusive he is. When his behavior gets him rejected, andwhen he discovers that the Yorkins aren’t the perfect fantasy, it leads to a frightening meltdown that risks the lives of everyone around him.
Robin Williams Playing Against Type in ‘One Hour Photo’ Is Unnerving
Sy does so many things wrong inOne Hour Photo, even abducting people and framing them with photos he takes, but this isn’t a slasher, with Sy going from family to family and slaughtering them. Sy couldn’t do that. He wants to belong, and he believes that what he’s doing is right. That realism is what makesOne Hour Photoso effectively horrifying, because Sy comes across as a real man, one that we could know, rather than a Hollywood character who shocks through gore and over-the-top madness. He smiles, he’s friendly, he makes conversation. Williams portrays Sy as someone who truly cares about his customers, as a warm person who could be loved if he wasn’t so broken inside.
This is also whyRobin Williams was the ideal actor to play him. Mark Romanek, who not only directedOne Hour Photobut wrote it,gives us a restrained antagonist. Sy is meek and quiet, a sad and pathetic person who no one would even notice. Meek, quiet, and restrained are the last words that come to mind when we think of Robin Williams' personality. Another actor could’ve done this role justice as well, but it’s Williams who makes us so uncomfortable because he’s the exact opposite of what we expected. It’s also because we care so much about him that we care about Sy and feel sorry for him. He’s not a cookie-cutter bad guy, but a human being who can maybe be redeemed.
Williams and Romanchek spoke about thisin a 2002 interview. Williams said there were times he’d struggle to stay in the restrained character, but Romanek would tell him to walk away and blow up for a minute, which would allow Robin to come back and be calm. It was important that Sy stay very calm for most of the runtime, because it’s integral to the meltdown he’ll have later. Romanek said that much of the tension around Sy is because it’s Robin Williams playing him. “We know he’s got this volcanic amount of, you know, of energy, so when he’s playing this very repressed, restrained character, we know he’s repressing on volcano, and that creates a lot of tension. If another actor, we might suspect he’s repressing a hiccup, it’s not as tense.” We know Sy is going to explode because Robin Williams is an explosive performer,and it leads to so much suspense even in the quietest of scenes.One Hour Photois a small movie that didn’t get a lot of attention and often gets lost among so many classic roles, but if you want to seeRobin Williams at his absolute best, spend 96 minutes with a man named Sy.
One Hour Photois available to watch on Prime Video in the U.S.
