ONE HOUR PHOTO Review

Ever since returning from China, my body clock has been on some sort of bizarre ‘no energy’ zone that has prevented me from being willing to take care of the regular writing on hand. In this case… a review that has been a long time in coming… ONE HOUR PHOTO.

What is it with Photographic Terminology films this year that seem to be resonating so strongly with me this year? Strange when odd little sub-sub-sub-categories pop out. ONE HOUR PHOTO and AUTO FOCUS. Now of the two, my personal pick as the best film was Paul Schrader’s… However, I’ll say without much doubt, most of you will prefer and adore ONE HOUR PHOTO far more than AUTO FOCUS, just because ONE HOUR PHOTO, while nowhere near a mainstream film, is much more accessible to folks than AUTO FOCUS. ONE HOUR PHOTO plays as a fantastic tonal suspense film that never lets you know for certain where Robin Williams is headed. You know from the opening he gets arrested, but you don’t know why or what he did. AUTO FOCUS you are suckered into thinking one thing, then led down a path that never lets you out… and when you get to the finale, you might not like what you’ve been made to witness.

The same may be true for some watching ONE HOUR PHOTO, but everyone I personally know is very very fond of ONE HOUR PHOTO, and I can’t say the same for AUTO FOCUS – though the hardest core film types I know LOVE (all caps) AUTO FOCUS.

However, it is really silly to be bringing AUTO FOCUS up, because titles aside… they are completely different films… or are they?

Both movies have camera terminology as titles. Both use cameras and the capturing of imagery as a gateway to their own fetishes… and both fetishists give me the heebie jeebies. Both films work primarily on the psyche of their audiences rather than choosing visceral or cheap thrills. Both are films of abuse with no real violence. Both are exceptionally well made films.

ONE HOUR PHOTO is the debut film that most of us will get to see Mark Romanek’s directing powers unleashed. His first feature, STATIC is not available on VHS or DVD and is an alleged Comedy – Drama that is fondly remembered by those that had a chance to see it back in 1985, but primarily, we’ve been relegated to watching Romanek’s directing powers on MTV with videos like Mick Jagger’s “GOD GAVE ME EVERYTHING I WANT “where the camera was affixed to Jagger himself to carry its motion solely from the energy of the singer himself. Or the Nine Inch Nails video “CLOSER” remember that crucified monkey alive and seemingly in pain or that spinning disembodied pig head or all those disturbing spinning folks? Or the pulled open lipped vagina or the blindfolded nude bald woman with a crucified statue on the forehead and the beating heart on that platter? Or maybe you remember the kaleidoscopic display of lighting effects above Lenny Kravitz in his “ARE YOU GONNA GO MY WAY” video…. An electrifying display to match his electrical guitar riffs. Very cool. Then there was the near zero contrast black and white video that probably cost near what ONE HOUR PHOTO did with Michael and Janet Jackson for their “SCREAM”. Then there is the crime scene style photography of Fiona Apple’s “CRIMINAL” which is absolutely haunting and vivid and real affecting looking.

From his Video work, what can one determine about Romanek? Well first off, from video to video he has a stylistic change that is arresting. He doesn’t tend to repeat himself in terms of palettes or movement of camera. He doesn’t bombard you at a thousand images a second, but sometimes his videos leave you in an emotionally odd place where you try to figure out what it is you’re feeling. I mean, after watching a video like CLOSER, I just wanted to scrub harder, while GOD GAVE ME EVERYTHING I WANT makes ya want to wiggle your ass, while CRIMINAL makes you wonder about the seedy side of life in those roadside motels next to the triple x video stores. The point is, Romanek hasn’t made a career out of mere puff videos. Whether through visuals, subject matter, tone or atmosphere… his videos have a definite effect on the viewer that goes much further than just thinking the rock star is cool… they make you wonder… “WHO MADE THIS?”

Well, after watching Mark’s Video work I wasn’t real sure what ONE HOUR PHOTO was going to be. The first version I saw was the “Sundance Cut” of the film. This is also the version of the movie that was released online. That cut didn’t have a final score in place and it wasn’t Romanek’s finished vision. But I liked that cut all the same. Many people that I’ve heard from online that loved that cut have professed absolute admiration for Romanek’s film, Robin Williams’ performance and well… They haven’t gone to see the film in the theater.

FOLKS, YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT YOU’RE MISSING!!!

While I liked the Sundance cut of ONE HOUR PHOTO – I absolutely love the final theatrical cut of the film. Sure you have the cool RED EYE scene missing, but what is in its place is far more affecting emotionally.

Right at the start of the film we begin as some stories begin and that’s at the end. Robin Williams is being photographed by the police. There he is that sad man that you see at the grocery store at 2am that night where you happened to needed to get something, only to see a man middle-aged sad looking like he was being pushed forward by some invisible creation just occupying the earth for seemingly no reason whatsoever… that guy that gives you the creeps… makes the hairs on your neck stand up.

You don’t know why. What is he? Child Molester? Rapist? Violent Abuser? Butterfly Collector? Model Train Enthusiast? A Taxi Cab Driver? Catholic Priest? A Politician? Moriarty? A Serial Killer? Or maybe even just a safe mild mannered normal tired guy looking to pick up some Baby Ruth bars for the pregnant wife he has at home. But whoever he is, just something about him rubs you wrong.

Right from the get go Robin Williams’ Seymour Parrish is just downright creepy looking and feeling. Close-cropped Blonde haired folks always do that to me. I think they first started messing with my head in VILLAGE OF THE DAMNED. Then I discovered that Nazis did that. Then Roy Batty and Billy Idol convinced me that those with very short blonde hair… spawn of the devil, up to no good.

NONE OF THEM ARE CREEPIER THAN ROBIN WILLIAMS IN THIS!

I mean, Sy the photo guy is creepier on screen than Freddie Prinze Jr’s jive talking Fred in SCOOBY DOO. Which means I have a very strong phobic emotional reaction to Sy the photo guy. So I started thinking what makes Sy so damn creepy.

First off he is meticulous. Folks that are meticulous are just not normal, and need to be in prison or somewhere far from me. Why? Well, when you see some gang-banging baggy pants wearing homie with a Glock… You get concerned, but if a meticulous man coming at you with ill will. Well, he isn’t going to just pop 4 bullets into you… He’s probably got a knife, probably skinned dogs as a kid and put live bugs onto a peg board with straight pins then with tweezers pulled their wings and antennae off… slowly so it would hurt more? No. So he could hear what the wing sounded like, so he could hear the cry of the bug in agony. You see, if a sloppy person is killing you, you can die with the thought… This person is gonna pay for what they are doing to me. SY the photo guy, he’ll only get caught if he wants to get caught. He’ll only let you die, when he wants to let you die. He’s meticulous. You can sense it.

The pride he puts into operating that One Hour Photo Developing Machine. The way he remembers YOUR ADDRESS OFF THE TOP OF HIS FRIGGIN’ HEAD! Now, sometimes it is nice in the various service industries when somebody remembers details about you. Mostly in the waitress world. Like when they know you like Iced Tea and when you get to your table about 2.3 seconds later you have a tall glass of Iced Tea and Chips and tons and tons of Green Salsa. But your home address being remembered by a basic stranger… not fun.

Now, before this movie I never really thought about those strange folks at the one hour photo places, but now… Now I’m glad I switched to Digital Cameras. Maybe that was the underlying message beneath the film. Switch from film to digital. This film is more affecting propaganda against the sins of film processing than all the conversations I’ve had with Robert Rodriguez. The idea that those people at the labs have cumulative knowledge about one’s life by way of the photos they’ve developed for us… YUCK! No good.

The idea that they might fantasize about joining your life, becoming part of your life… Well, it has just never crossed my mind. And as you watch this film Mark Romanek is toying with your emotions and fears. Is Sy after little Jakob Yorkin? Is he in love with Connie Nielsen’s Nina Yorkin? Is he going to kill Michael Vartan’s Will Yorkin? What does he do to get arrested? What are Sy’s photos of?

This is a psychological thriller… meaning the thrills are in your head. They are there because Mark Romanek knows exactly how to toy with what is going on in your head. How we’ve been conditioned to respond to the heartbeat thump music… Our fears of the meticulous stranger with an obsession on the innocent family in that nice house. The fact that Sy is a ticking time bomb that we see people pouring gasoline on his fuse while waving a flame thrower overhead. We know Seymour Parrish is going to do something. We know he has motives, the ability to carry it out and we know he has nothing to lose.

The ONE HOUR PHOTO in theaters is immaculately shot, conceived and delivered. The Sundance cut was less accomplished in sinking into my skull, less vital and less involving. THIS is the superior version. Besides… the lush colors, the vibrancy, this is a film washed with TIDE with Color Guard. I mean bright bright colors. This is a disturbingly good time in a theater.

With this film, Romanek arrives as a feature film director. I can’t wait for his next film.