One Hour Photo Starring Robin Williams, Connie Nielsen Directed by Mark Romanek Rated R for sexual content and language **1/2 out of 4 Stars, Movie Grade: B-

Theatrical Release: August 21, 2002

Running time: 98 minutes

by Kevin Lang

"One Hour Photo" was engaging throughout as it methodically developed its seemingly twisted tale of an obsessed man and the family he couldn't get enough of. However, in the end, despite Robin Williams' superb performance, "One Hour Photo" failed to develop (no pun intended) into anything more than a well-acted film with a story that failed to entice us due to its lack of direction. By this I don't necessarily mean direction by the director, but rather direction of the story. Mark Romanek, who wrote and directed the film, seemed hesitant to choose a more defining, satisfying conclusion than the one we got.

The critics who praised this film's story were likely focusing on the idea that the story's ending is more realistic and more comparable to what might really happen. Realism isn't bad, but we're there to be entertained, and most of the time, two hours of well-done fiction is more enjoyable than two hours of everyday life. That's why we're there isn't it? It's what makes movies great. We can escape reality, and venture into worlds that we don't normally see, even into the minds of the seemingly insane.

Williams' character, Seymour Parrish, was drawn beautifully through details and actions that captured our compassion and sympathy. After becoming entangled in his life, it was disappointing that he didn't bring us in a lot deeper towards the end. We came to understand him so well, and what we feared his character might be contemplating never panned out. At the end, we were left wishing that the exceptional, Oscar worthy performance by Williams' could have been supported by an equally intriguing overall story.

"One Hour Photo" Review written September 18, 2002, CTF.