In this film, Robin Williams gave life to Sy, an employee of a big store that works in the department of revelation of photographs. He is apparently competent and a good worker, but the truth is that he hides a fascination for a family he usually attend, the Yorkin's. When he realizes that the unity and joy of that family is in danger, he decides to act and protect the family.The film is not easy to digest. To begin with, the pace is slow, in order to construct the characters and plot in a more appropriate and perceptible way. Then you have the problem of the main character being dysfunctional and hard to like. Initially, he acts like a maniac, with an obsession with that family, to which he seems to wish to belong. We don't know if it's envy, if it's worship, if it's a mania. Even so, there is something rational about how he behaves, as we have seen in the explanations he gives to the police in the end. Another problem, especially for the more commercial audience, is the intellectual touches the film takes on regularly, in monologues or in discreet detail that many people may find boring or expendable. I confess, I enjoyed it.Little can be said about Williams' performance. He is brilliant. I never thought to see this actor, so attached to comedy and humorous characters, to give life to a character so dense and complex, with touches of villain, stalker and avenger punctuated with the sweetness of a lonely, needy and unhappy man. The remaining cast was also fine, but does not stand out and leaves room for Williams to shine as he deserves.Technically, this is a competent, but discreet film. Good cinematography, good light and color, good camera angles, and a discreet, yet capable, soundtrack. I would highlight the monologues, where the film shows some art.

'One Hour Photo (2002)' is a genuinely disturbing, but non-grotesque, film that stays with you long after its successfully subversive and ambiguous end. It further serves (along with 'Insomnia (2002' and 'Good Will Hunting (1998)') to prove that Robin Williams was a phenomenal dramatic actor capable of incredible diversity along with an understated charm that actually adds to the sort of suburban creepiness of the couple of frightening characters he took on. What he does here is bring a true, tangible humanity to a terribly disturbed, deeply damaged individual and the slow-burn of the piece expertly winds up the suspense for an unsuspected finale that is as shocking as it is successful, unrelentingly uncomfortable and incredibly engaging (in a 'watch through your fingers' kind of way). Even at its darkest, it never to loses sight of its character-based, not mean-spirited, focus. 7/10

One hour photo; referring to the time it usually takes for the photo developer Sy Parrish to get his customers' pictures printed. Nowadays in the digital age, people rarely need to go to a photo developer. They still exist of course, but are not as popular as they used to be. Even at this time however, digital was starting to take its place. Bad news for Sy, as the slightest suggestion that the family he often develops photos for might go digital frightens him...This movie completely blew me away. Robin Williams plays a character so nerve-wreckingly creepy, strange and pitiful that he gets under your skin so much he becomes real. That's some of my favorite kind of characters, where they feel so real that they almost start existing. I have no words for how layered his performance was. It would be so easy to just make a character straight-up creepy only, but the fact that you want to root for him even though you're worried at the same time he'll finally snap speaks volumes for how much he embraces this character. Sy is not a bad person, but he's still dangerous. He's compassionate, but also oddly disconnective. The Yorkin family (well, Nina and Jakob at least) like him, but they are not aware of just how much Sy really loves them, not only as customers, but like they were his own family members. The only times they get an idea of that is when he "jokily" refers to himself as Uncle Sy. When he does start to get a little too close to them, director/writer of this movie conveys it so subtly how they are pleased to see him, but at the same time they know something isn't quite right. Will Yorkin notices something odd about him right away, but doesn't think too much of him outside of just a "stranger". This is the core of the movie, the struggle of Sy trying to get something he can't have. It's almost immediately obvious he's close to them, but it's not enough. He wants to be more than just a nice familiar face. We as the audience know how easily he can break loose of any logical thought and restraint, which he does throughout but it happens to slowly and methodically we feel constant shivers long before the movie is over.Gary Cole is also good and kinda funny as his frustrated boss Bill Owens. All of the performances range from good to excellent, but if it wasn't for Williams the movie wouldn't have as much meaning as it does. It makes you think about how dangerous loneliness can be, how important support from family or friends is. We don't want to end up like Sy, but we strongly pity people who turn out that way.

Whilst my only complaint is that it starts off a bit slow, One Hour Photo becomes a fast paced thriller which pitches you on the edge of your seat. The thing I love about this film is that it never reveals to much at one time. The ending is explosive and all the little bits in between are fantastic. Robin Williams' acing is phenomenal, whilst (just like the perfect photo) the filming is also above par, capturing all the scenes in beautiful glory.I can't believe I waited so long to see this. A truly underrated gem and a great thriller. It's also very original, with no film before or after imitating what you watch.