One Hour Photo

Name: One Hour Photo
Genre: Drama, Thriller
Released: August 21, 2002
Duration: 96 min
Rating: 64
Cast: Connie Nielsen, Michael Vartan, Robin Williams

2002

METASCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 35 Critics

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USER SCORE

Mixed or average reviews based on 98 Ratings

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4.9

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4.9	Your Score
4.9	User Score Mixed or average reviews based on 98 Ratings

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One Hour Photo

Movie Details & Credits

Fox Searchlight Pictures | Release Date: August 21, 2002

Starring: Connie Nielsen, Michael Vartan, Robin Williams

Summary: A young suburban family finds themselves the objects of obsession of an employee (Williams) at their local one-hour photo lab.

Director: Mark Romanek

Genre(s): Drama, Thriller

Rating: R

Runtime: 96 min

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Awards & Rankings

80	#80 Most Discussed Movie of 2002
97	#97 Most Shared Movie of 2002

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Critic Reviews

New Times (L.A.) - Luke Y. Thompson

Robin Williams just may have found the greatest role of his career. Playing beautifully both to fans and haters, Williams' Sy is a character you don't know whether to hug or go vigilante on his ass, a balance Bob Hoskins couldn't quite capture in "Felicia's Journey."

Chicago Sun-Times - Roger Ebert

Watching the film, I thought of Michael Powell's great 1960 British thriller "Peeping Tom," which was about a photographer who killed his victims with a stiletto concealed in his camera. Sy uses a psychological stiletto, but he's the same kind of character. Read full review

Washington Post - Desson Thomson

Intense and absorbing experience. Read full review

TV Guide Magazine - Ken Fox

Too bad that Romanek feels compelled to tie it all up with a banal pop psych explanation that offers an all-too simplistic solution to an otherwise uncommonly complex thriller. Read full review

Austin Chronicle - Marjorie Baumgarten

Offers a very interesting snapshot of some decidedly modern pathologies. Read full review

Los Angeles Times - Manohla Dargis

All too predictably, as if obeying some rule of genre, the director trades in his more involved ideas about alienation and voyeurism for an eruption of violence, then tags on some nonsense about marital fidelity. Read full review

Salon - Charles Taylor

An art-house horror movie, and like most art-house versions of genre films, all the vitality and juice of genre conventions have been sucked right out. The irony of the movie is that it puts you into the same torpor that's supposed to be afflicting the characters. Read full review

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User Reviews

muzicman17

Mar 18, 2012

Here we have a near-perfect thriller told in classic Hitchcoc fashion. The acting and storytelling is great, and Robin Williams does really come off as one of the creepiest roles I have seen him in. Even with his creepiness, we sympathize with him and want him to succeed - at least to someHere we have a near-perfect thriller told in classic Hitchcoc fashion. The acting and storytelling is great, and Robin Williams does really come off as one of the creepiest roles I have seen him in. Even with his creepiness, we sympathize with him and want him to succeed - at least to some extent. The story and pacing of this film both are great, and it really is a film Alfred Hitchcoc would produce if he were still alive today. I really enjoyed this movie from start to finish. The chemistry between the characters and the many twists in the story make this a wonderful little gem well worth your time to watch.… Expand

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

AlyD.

Aug 1, 2006

I just wanted to comment on what someone said. It is very hard to see Robin Williams as a villain. It makes you uncomfortable but that shows how well Williams plays the part. He plays the villain very well. If it didn't make us a little uncomfortable then there is a problem.

0 of 0 users found this helpful

inaneswine

Nov 14, 2017

One Hour Photo not only has a lot of lessons to teach about depression, obsession and isolation, it also makes profound observations about photographs, meaning the memories we choose to cherish and the image we present of ourselves, pre-empting the Facebook and Instagram generation.

As forOne Hour Photo not only has a lot of lessons to teach about depression, obsession and isolation, it also makes profound observations about photographs, meaning the memories we choose to cherish and the image we present of ourselves, pre-empting the Facebook and Instagram generation.

As for the performances: in perhaps the most disquieting role he ever played, Williams makes every inch of your skin crawl in this, solid proof that he was as efficient in his tragic roles as he was in his comedic.… Expand