One Hour Photo

Starring: Robin Williams, Connie Nielsen
Directed by: Mark Romanek
Rating: R
Genre: Thriller
2002

Times Seen:
Tim: 1


Summary: An employee (Robin Williams) grows obsessed with a suburban family whose pictures he develops over a long period of time. His behavior becomes more erratic after he is fired, and he begins stalking the family.

Review:

Tim: One Hour Photo is a dark, creepy thriller that is completely unlike the typical Williams film. Although Williams has been heading toward darker fare (including Insomnia), this is still not the role we are used to seeing him in. For that, I applaud his effort to expand himself as an actor.

Unfortunately for the movie, it plays more like a vehicle for Williams to show off the darker side of his acting talents, rather than an interesting and engaging story in which we want to watch.

Looking solely at the role of Williams, the film is worth seeing. He is downright creepy. Half of the time I had to remind myself that this is the same guy that spiced up Aladdin and brought us Mrs. Doubtfire. He is disturbingly real. He picked the right character here to display his acting depth.

One Hour Photo, however, is only mildly entertaining. We are kept in some suspense as we watch a family threatened by a certifiable nutjob that appears on the outside to be more or less like everyone else. The film drags at times and takes its time in finishing. It is not a high quality movie.

Once again, I want to say that I applaud Williams for reaching out as an actor and showing a different side of him. I look forward to future dark performances, just hopefully in better films.



Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 5.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Insomnia, Punch Drunk Love, Domestic Disturbance, Taxi Driver