One Hour Photo

As the rental version of One Hour Photo has been available for a while and already reviewed on this site, there seems little point in rehashing what has already been said. This ‘available for purchase’ version now comes with some decent extras that will appeal to potential punters.

A quick recap if you will. Seymour ‘Sy’ Parish (Robin Williams) works at the photo development lab at one of those mega-mart type shops called SavMart, managed by Bill Owens (a typically menacing Gary Cole). Sy is a loner who takes comfort and extreme pride in his work, for essentially he has nothing else. Living his life through the photographs of others seems about as close as Sy will ever get to his own ‘normal’ life.

Sy develops a kind of fantasy existence with one particular family of regular customers. The Parish family appeal to him for their wholesomeness, and because they appear to be a happy, safe little unit.

When Sy uncovers a disturbing truth about the Parishes via another customer’s prints, it sets him off on a one-man crusade to right a wrong for the family, with near disastrous results.

One Hour Photo may be a short film by today’s standards (92 minutes) but is a perfect length. Characters are well developed with the aid of some clever editing and subtle directortorial skills such as the deliberate use of Sy’s bland clothing, the stark shop lighting, and even some clever use of colour filters.

There has been much praise for Williams; this is quite a different role for him and something that he should explore again. There is none of his normally manic acting and ad-libbing, and perhaps it is this restraint that gives the character of Sy such a disturbing edge.

There are a couple of unexpected moments that add to the uncertainty of where Sy is coming from and where he is going to, and it is only in the final few moments that we get a glimpse of Sy’s real struggle.

The rental version of this release was generally of a high standard bar some horizontal wobble and the usual assortment of grain-affected scenes and some shimmer. Not much has changed really, and the wobbling picture, though extremely slight, is still there in many scenes. The original aspect ratio of 1.85:1 has been retained, as has the 16:9 enhancement. The colours are nicely saturated, bold and really leap out of the screen, contrasting nicely with the harsh light of the SavMart and Sy’s bland work clothes. Colour filters are a nice touch.

There is still some grain and a few very mild artefacts such as dirt and scratches that are not distracting and therefore can be easily ignored. There are, however, some annoying intrusions by way of noise and edge enhancement. Otherwise this transfer is good and solid with good clarity and definition, no issues with shadow detail and a layer change placed between scenes at 46:59.

Ooh what a nice Dolby Digital 5.1 audio this is. While it’s a beauty right from the start with lovely immersive sounds, there are a couple of moments where the audio builds until a huge “whoomp’ fills the room - quite dramatic and effective. Proof that while most of the audio is quite subtle, it still has some guts.

The rear channels are a constant presence with music, a lot of ambience such as the SavMart scenes, and the occasional sound effects as Sy’s world starts to close in on him. As mentioned, the low-level sounds are very gutsy, and the high frequency sounds are clear and bright. Most dialogue is placed in the front and centre, and is well synchronised.

There are no glitches along the way, and some very nice use of low-frequency sounds to give the movie a little more menace. The music is also great and is unobtrusively effective.

There are only a few extras, but they are quite meaty. There is an audio commentary from writer/director Mark Romanek and Robin Williams. It is a very 'chatty' affair with Williams in quite a subdued mood, but still funny and informative. There is not a great amount of technical information, but Romanek is quite forthcoming about his inspiration, and offers lots of subtle clues about Sy, with many references to things that most casual viewers will miss from the choice of colours, to the deliberate placement of props.

Can't get enough of the duo? Well The Charlie Rose Show will give you a 35-minute dose of the pair being interviewed by Charlie Rose. They are on his show to promote the film obviously enough, and Williams is his usual tangent-running self, and again is quite funny. The best part is watching Romanek trying to get a word in edgeways.

The Cinemax Featurette is a loose 13-minute 'Making Of' type featurette with input from Williams and several of the main cast. It is really just a short promo piece, the kind normally shown later at night on commercial television to fill in a gap.

Those wanting a deeper and more technical look at the movie-making process will enjoy Sundance: Anatomy of a Scene, which is a more in-depth 'Making of' featurette. There is input from crew and like all the extras it's a full frame presentation with standard Dolby Digital stereo audio.

One Hour Photo is a good film. Robin Williams proves he really is a versatile performer/actor, and the clever use of colour, style and set design means the film is menacing on several layers at once. Now available to purchase, the extra features should ensure that it finds its way into more than a few homes.