By Robert Scucci | Published
We all love Robin Williams for making our childhood magical with movies like Mrs. Doubtfire, Patch Adams, and, my favorite, his portrait of the happy, goofy Blue Genie with a heart of gold Aladdin. When I was 14, I got to witness Williams’ brilliant transformation from exuberant and wholesome to menacing and calculating when he decided to branch out into the thriller genre with 2002’s. One hour photo. Like many fans of Williams’ filmography, I was blown away by his portrayal of “Sy the Photo Guy,” a well-meaning stalker who isn’t necessarily a bad guy, but rather a man living in total isolation to the point to act. incredibly out of pocket towards an unsuspecting family as a way to combat their loneliness.
What’s most impressive about Williams’ Sy the Photo Guy is how difficult it is to blame him for his problematic behavior throughout 1 hour photo because he’s such a likeable character until he this is not the case. Plus, when Sy’s behavior escalates to the point where he commits unspeakable acts, you still feel bad for him because it’s obvious he doesn’t know any better.
Sy is not the hero, he is just the protagonist
1 hour photo focuses on the life of Seymour “Sy” Parrish, a lonely photo technician working for big box retailer SavMart. Known for his obsessive attention to detail, Sy takes great pride in his work as developing a film containing his clients’ precious family moments is something he does not take lightly. In Sy’s mind, photography immortalizes the happy moments that people don’t want to forget.
After all, when a house burns down, the first thing people try to salvage is their photo collection, according to Sy.
Through Sy’s stories, he proclaims that people don’t go to other stores like Rexall or Fotek because their technicians don’t care as much about the craft as he does. Sy treats his clients’ photos as if they were his own in just an hour, and his clients appreciate his commitment to his work, which he considers a vital public service.
The Yorkin family
Apart from his work in 1 hour photoSy leads an empty life and his social awkwardness prevents him from forming meaningful relationships. Desperate to feel like he belongs, Sy clings to the Yorkin family. Although it’s never explicitly stated, it’s obvious that Sy is in love with Nina Yorkin (Connie Nielsen), and he always gives her special treatment when she drops him off some rolls of film she needs developed.
When Nina first stops at SavMart with her son, Jake (Dylan Smith), Sy expresses his affection by giving the boy a free camera for his birthday, which is against company policy and l one of the many clumsy advances he makes towards the Yorkins.
Sy is in love with the Yorkins because he considers them the ideal family he never had. However, Sy doesn’t just do good in a professional setting. 1 hour photowhich is evident when you take a look at his home life. Living alone in his apartment with his hamster, Sy has an entire wall of his house decorated with photos of the Yorkins on various family outings and has vivid fantasies that place him among their family.
1 hour photo sees Sy’s behavior intensify as he goes from innocently chatting with the Yorkins at work to following them around town in an attempt to feel some sort of human connection with a family who are completely indifferent to his existence for no other reason than that he’s just their photographer at SavMart and they have their own lives.
Sy’s loneliness is noticed by Nina when he follows her to the mall and claims that their meeting is a coincidence, and as far as she knows, it is. When he sits down near Nina and mentions that he imagines his family calling him “Uncle Sy”, he chokes up and lets out an awkward laugh that would make anyone feel bad for the guy.
Things quickly get out of control
Sy’s behavior in 1 hour photo becomes more and more erratic, and he gets a little too close for comfort with the Yorkins as the film progresses. Stealing family photos (for years) is a heinous act in itself, but when his fantasies and outbursts start to affect his professional life, Sy ends up falling in at the deep end despite his good intentions. Seeing his imagined, ideal life spilling over into his reality is truly heartbreaking, even though he is clearly in the wrong, because all Sy wants is to feel loved and appreciated for his acts of kindness.
1 hour photo streaming
1 hour photo is a tough watch because Robin Williams’ performance makes you want to see Sy the Photo Guy find happiness, but he’s gone too far to really make you want to root for him. Like I said, he’s a likable character until he’s not. It’s easy to infer that his affection toward the Yorkin family comes from a dark, lonely, desperate place, but he crosses too many boundaries for them to feel the same way about him.
If you want to watch the late Robin Williams manipulate you into caring about Sy, the guy in the photo, despite his problematic behavior, you can stream 1 hour photo on Hulu as of this writing.
