October 10, 2002 -- "One Hour Photo" is not a big concept movie. It is a small, personal film, but its universal themes of lonliness, jealousy, materialism, infidelity and loss of privacy resonate deeply throughout society. It is like a little gem of a movie, flawlessly cut, impeccably polished.

Robin Williams of "Insomnia" stars as Sy Parrish, a little man who toils in anonymity at his job as the operator of a photo lab in an enormous store called Savmart. He's the kind of man nobody notices, until it is too late. He is a perfectionist, tuning his mini-lab to his own exacting specifications. He has no life outside of the lab. The only color in his drab apartment is the wall of photographs he has collected over the years, stolen photos that no one else knows he has. These photos depict a family he has come to idealize. The family, Nina Yorkin (played by Connie Nielsen of "Gladiator"), her husband, Will (Michael Vartan) and their son, Jakob (Dylan Smith) are customers of his. He has come to imagine that he is part of this family. He thinks of himself as their "Uncle Sy."

When Sy learns that this family is not as perfect as he would like, he takes steps to correct the situation. When hints don't work, be decides to take direct action, action which involves the use of a very large, very sharp knife. Sy is tragically unable to handle the lack of perfection in the family he adopts. This makes the film sound like a slasher movie, but it is not. It is more of a psychological thriller. Most psychological thrillers, like "Color of Night," are very poorly handled. This film is a remarkable exception, building tension steadily from the beginning of the film to its surprising climax, with virtually no arbitrary plot developments. Everything is character-driven.

Robin William's performance is letter-perfect. He carries the film with subtle gestures, giving perfect expression to an inner despair and rage. One of his many chilling lines of dialogue comes when he not-so-casually mentions the term "snapshot" was originally a hunting term. It will make you think twice about where to have your film developed. Some critics don't like Williams because he likes to play heroic characters (is that sick or what?). This character, along with the chilling villain he played in "Insomnia" should satisfy those critics. Aside from Williams, there are no stars in this film, but the actors do a great job, particularly Dylan Smith, who plays one of only two characters in the film who are able to see Sy's inner despair. The other is a police detective played by Eriq La Salle ("Jacob's Ladder" and the TV show "E.R."). Connie Nielsen, Michael Vartan and Gary Cole (who plays Sy's heartless boss at Savemart) give strong supporting performances as well.

The distinctive thing about this film, aside from William's performance, is the impeccable art direction, production design, set design, costume design and cinematography. All of this gives the film its distinctive look, reminiscent of the cold, antiseptic, calculated look of Stanley Kubrick's films. The interiors at Savemart are stunningly bright with cool, blue-tinted colors. This color and lighting scheme, along with the performance by Gary Cole, give Sy's workplace an overwhelming sense of cruel, unforgiving, depersonalized, antiseptic abundance. By contrast, the Yorkin home is bathed in inviting warm golds, yellows and reds, while Sy’s drab apartment is an uninviting combination of cool grays and tans. It is a film of precise, stunning visual contrasts. The production design, by Tom Foden, art direction by Michael Manson and Set Decoration by Tessa Posnansky are all the same team who combined for the remarkable look of "The Cell." The costume design is by Arianne Phillips ("Hedwig and the Angry Inch"). Cinematography is by Jeff Cronenweth ("The Game," "Seven").

The strength of the film, however, lies in the immaculate screenplay written by Mark Romanek, who also directs the film. The screenplay, like the screenplay of last year's best film, "In the Bedroom" requires no suspension of disbelief. There are no arbtrary plot developments. The story is a result of the humanity of its characters, their strengths, as well as their weaknesses. There is no fat on this story. It has that lean hungry look. It is suspenseful, but has moments of dark humor as well. Romanek wanted to emulate the "lonely man" films of the 1970s like "Taxi Driver" and "The Conversation." A lofty goal. Remarkably, despite little experience directing feature-length films, he succeeds in his quest, producing the year's best film so far. This film rates an A.

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