One Hour Photo: Difference between revisions
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In the movie's final scene, set in a police interrogation room, Van Der Zee asks Sy why he terrorized the Yorkins. Sy indirectly reveals that his father had made him do "sick, disgusting things that no kid should ever have to do". The implication, confirmed by Romanek, is that Sy's father exploited him for [[child pornography]], and this accounts for his loneliness and his obsession with photography. Sy cannot understand why William, as the perfect father, was determined to destroy his family. As the detective prepares to take his confession, Sy asks for the pictures he made at the hotel, which the detective has described as '[[evidence]]'. They appear to be only shots of household objects and interior furnishings he took on a separate roll after the incident in the hotel (possibly an allusion to his statement, earlier in the film, 'the little things are that which make up our lives'). |
In the movie's final scene, set in a police interrogation room, Van Der Zee asks Sy why he terrorized the Yorkins. Sy indirectly reveals that his father had made him do "sick, disgusting things that no kid should ever have to do". The implication, confirmed by Romanek, is that Sy's father exploited him for [[child pornography]], and this accounts for his loneliness and his obsession with photography. Sy cannot understand why William, as the perfect father, was determined to destroy his family. As the detective prepares to take his confession, Sy asks for the pictures he made at the hotel, which the detective has described as '[[evidence]]'. They appear to be only shots of household objects and interior furnishings he took on a separate roll after the incident in the hotel (possibly an allusion to his statement, earlier in the film, 'the little things are that which make up our lives'). |
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The film closes with a picture of the Yorkin family with Sy. Romanek claims in the [[DVD]] commentary that the picture is intended to symbolize an open ending; it is left up to the viewer to decide whether the picture only exists in Sy's mind or if the Yorkin family is grateful to him for having saved them by exposing Will's affair. |
The film closes with a picture of the Yorkin family with Sy. Romanek claims in the [[DVD]] commentary that the picture is intended to symbolize an open ending; it is left up to the viewer to decide whether the picture only exists in Sy's mind or if the Yorkin family is grateful to him for having saved them by exposing Will's affair (though the latter would be highly unlikely). |
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==Release and reaction== |
==Release and reaction== |
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Revision as of 12:27, 6 December 2008
| One Hour Photo | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Mark Romanek |
| Written by | Mark Romanek |
| Produced by | Christine Vachon Pamela Koffler Stan Wlodkowski |
| Starring | Robin Williams Connie Nielsen Michael Vartan Dylan Smith Gary Cole Eriq La Salle |
| Cinematography | Jeff Cronenweth |
| Edited by | Jeffrey Ford |
| Music by | Reinhold Heil Johnny Klimek |
| Distributed by | Fox Searchlight Pictures |
Release dates | August 21, 2002 (limited); September 13 2002 (wide) |
Running time | 96 min. |
| Language | English |
| Budget | ~ US$12,000,000 |
One Hour Photo (2002) is an American psychological thriller, written and directed by Mark Romanek and starring Robin Williams. Fox Searchlight Pictures distributed the movie in the United States, and it also starred Connie Nielsen, Michael Vartan, Gary Cole, and Eriq La Salle. Williams won a Saturn Award for Best Actor (2003) for his work in the film[1].
Plot
Williams stars as Seymour "Sy" Parrish, a mini-lab photo tech at "SavMart's" one-hour photo developing clinic in suburban Los Angeles, where he leads a depressing, solitary life. Every day he labors to ensure his customers get the best quality photos possible; his life is truly his work, for he has no one and nothing to go home to at the end of each day. Among his customers are the Yorkin family, made up of husband William (Vartan), wife Nina (Nielsen), and their only child Jake (Dylan Smith). Sy has done their photos for years and, over time, has developed an obsession with the family; he idolizes their happiness and affluence, memorizes every personal detail about them that he can learn, and finally begins to stalk them. During his lunch break, he secretly makes his own copies of the Yorkins' photos from the film negatives and then puts them on a wall in his apartment. Most of all, he fantasizes about being a member of their family, and sharing in the love he assumes they must feel. However, he is painfully shy, and his attempts to become closer to the family are gently rebuffed.
Sy discovers that William is having an affair, and his idyllic conception of the Yorkins as the 'perfect' family is shattered. He comes to hate and envy William, who has everything Sy longs for, yet doesn't seem to care. Sy soon finds himself in trouble with his boss, SavMart manager Bill Owens (Cole), first for an outburst in the store with the mini-lab's service technician, and then for the manager's discovery that Sy has been making unaccounted photo copies and giving away a disposable camera to Jake for his birthday. After being fired for this, Sy stalks Owens' young daughter, leading to a police report against him. While detectives Van Der Zee and Outerbridge (played by La Salle and Clark Gregg) are discovering Sy's obsession, he confronts William and his mistress, Maya (Erin Daniels) while they are making love in their hotel room, with a knife and a camera, and forces the lovers to pose naked while he takes pictures. Throughout the ordeal, William's mistress panics and Sy reacts aggressively, but does not harm either of them. After this, Sy discovers that the police arrived in the hotel and tries to escape. The alarm sounds and Van Der Zee pursues him while Outerbridge discovers a tormented William Yorkin and his mistress. As Sy tries to leave the hotel, he is finally arrested.
In the movie's final scene, set in a police interrogation room, Van Der Zee asks Sy why he terrorized the Yorkins. Sy indirectly reveals that his father had made him do "sick, disgusting things that no kid should ever have to do". The implication, confirmed by Romanek, is that Sy's father exploited him for child pornography, and this accounts for his loneliness and his obsession with photography. Sy cannot understand why William, as the perfect father, was determined to destroy his family. As the detective prepares to take his confession, Sy asks for the pictures he made at the hotel, which the detective has described as 'evidence'. They appear to be only shots of household objects and interior furnishings he took on a separate roll after the incident in the hotel (possibly an allusion to his statement, earlier in the film, 'the little things are that which make up our lives').
The film closes with a picture of the Yorkin family with Sy. Romanek claims in the DVD commentary that the picture is intended to symbolize an open ending; it is left up to the viewer to decide whether the picture only exists in Sy's mind or if the Yorkin family is grateful to him for having saved them by exposing Will's affair (though the latter would be highly unlikely).
Release and reaction
One Hour Photo opened to above average reviews, earning raves from Roger Ebert[2], Leonard Maltin, and other noted critics.
The movie's limited release began on August 21, 2002 in seven theaters, opening to a $321,515 weekend, with an average of $45,930 per theater. Its wide release began the next month on September 13, with a 1,212 theater count. Still, the film made just over $8 million that weekend, and went on to gross $31,597,131, followed by an additional $20,626,175 in overseas territories, for an international total of $52,223,306[3]; not a blockbuster by any means, but certainly a success, considering its modest $12 million budget.
Robin Williams was the recipient of a Saturn Award for his portrayal of Sy[4].
The film has an 81% positive rating on the review aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes, which means it is 'fresh'[5]. Metacritic has a similarly high score for the film, with a score of 64 out of 100[6].
Behind the scenes
Romanek intended the film to be much longer, but the studio ordered it to be cut shorter, and elements rearranged out of concerns about commerciality. The beginning, for example, was moved to the end. A director's cut is not available to buy, but was shown at the Sundance Film Festival[7].
Trent Reznor, of the band Nine Inch Nails, composed the original film score, but Romanek opted not to use it. The music can still be heard on the Nine Inch Nails EP Still.[8]
In accordance with photography being the theme of the movie, many of the characters in the movie take their names from photographers. Examples include: Sy's assistant at the Savmart, Yoshi Araki (named for Nobuyoshi Araki); Det. Van Der Zee (James Van Der Zee); Det. Outerbridge (Paul Outerbridge); Maya Burson (Nancy Burson); and Savmart customers Mrs. von Unwerth (Ellen von Unwerth) and Mr. Siskind (Aaron Siskind). In addition, the hotel at the end of the movie, the Edgerton, is also named for a noted photographer — Harold Eugene Edgerton.
In one of the voice-over pieces Sy can be heard to say "They actually believe that any idiot that attends a two-day seminar can master the art of making beautiful prints in less than an hour. But of course, like most things, there's far more to it than meets the eye." In reality Robin Williams prepared for the role by training for two and-a-half days in a South California photo development lab.
In commentary, Romanek has gone on to state that he was partially inspired by the films of 'lonely men' from the 1970s, notably Taxi Driver.
In the DVD commentary, Romanek says that Jack Nicholson was first approached to play the lead character. Nicholson turned the role down.
The Robot toy that Sy gives to Jake is an action figure of Eva Unit 05 from Neon Genesis Evangelion, an item from Robin Williams' personal collection.
Notes
A probable coincidence is, one of Williams' earlier films (Jumanji) had him playing a character called Alan Parrish.
Major cast
- Robin Williams — Seymour 'Sy' Parrish
- Connie Nielsen — Nina Yorkin
- Michael Vartan — Will Yorkin
- Dylan Smith — Jake Yorkin
- Gary Cole — Bill Owens
- Eriq La Salle — Detective James Van Der Zee
- Clark Gregg — Detective Paul Outerbridge
- Erin Daniels — Maya Burson
References
- ^ Saturn Awards. "Past Saturn Awards". www.saturnawards.org. Retrieved 2002-08-23.
- ^ Roger Ebert (2004-05-07). "One Hour Photo". ::rogerebert.com::. Retrieved 2002-08-23.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help)CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link) - ^ Box Office Mojo. "One Hour Photo (2002)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2002-08-23.
- ^ Saturn Awards. "Past Saturn Awards". www.saturnawards.org. Retrieved 2002-08-23.
- ^ Rotten Tomatoes. "One Hour Photo Movie Reviews, Pictures - Rotten Tomatoes". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2002-08-23.
- ^ Metacritic. "One Hour Photo (2002): Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 2002-08-23.
- ^ David Geffner. "MAGAZINE". DGA. Retrieved 2002-08-23.
{{cite web}}: Text "INDIES" ignored (help); Text "SUNDANCE FESTIVAL 2002 VOLUME 26-6: MARCH 2002" ignored (help) - ^ Trent Reznor (2004-05-07). "Access". nin.com. Archived from the original on 2006-01-06. Retrieved 2008-02-19.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help)