One Hour Photo

Robin Williams finally stops playing schmaltzy roles and takes on something a bit darker and more complex. Not evil, mind you, but rather psychologically muddled a la Norman Bates. Specifically, he plays the manager of a quick-drop photo store that is located in a generic Wal-Mart-ish chain. His obsession with one particular family goes into overdrive when he’s fired. Like Human Nature, this is another debut feature by a director of music videos, in this case Mark Romanek. With a nod to other creepy voyeurs (Peeping Tom) and obsessives (Fatal Attraction), One Hour Photo works on many levels and has things to say about family, service sector jobs, and loneliness. Mainly, it has a nice blend of humor and ominous and creepy thrills that make it a worthwhile watch. But it also seems, when all is said and done, a tad too... “simple.”