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Williams stars as "Sy the Photo Guy." Seemingly nice. Seemingly normal. But Sy is very lonely, and perhaps very psychotic. Working endless days at the local one hour photo, he begins printing duplicate copies of the photos of the Yorkins, a well-to-do upper-middle class family. Growing obsessed, he fantasies about being a part of their seemingly perfect American bliss. But all veneers have cracks, and when circumstances begin to turn against Sy, well, what's a lonely psycho to do?

I imagine One Hour Photo is the type of film that will polarize viewers. Those expecting Williams doing Glenn Close in Fatal Attraction will likely be disappointed. A-list music video director Mark Romanek, despite his background, has more on his mind than cheap thrills. Working off of his own script and aided immeasurably by Williams absolute immersion in Sy's psychosis, the film veers far more towards the character study than your typical Hollywood thriller. It's actually quite refreshing. The slow, methodical pace and almost complete reliance on Sy's point of view makes for an often queasy, relentlessly unsettling film.

Initially, I admired Romanek's almost complete refusal to bend to typical Hollywood conventions (at least in terms of style and pacing). Alas, One Hour Photo misses it's chance at greatness, as it eventually has to concede a few of its battles even if it wins the war. Like so many high-gloss Hollywood thrillers that traffic in what are essentially lurid B-movie exploitation plots, the third-act use of violence and degradation (especially an out-of-place hotel room scene) feel sleazy and a bit cheap. But Williams never wavers in his absolute conviction, and even the blankness of the family, including Gladiator's Connie Nielsen and especially Michael Vartan as the sad sack husband, in a way actually aids the narrative, as it tightens the focus even more on Sy, where it should be. But does the climax pay off? Not really. It does give us the big violent finish, but I was hoping for a bit more depth and emotional resonance.

Yet One Hour Photo still has much to recommend and is a daring stylistic risk. Jeff Cronenweth.'s cinematography is uniformly excellent, and he seems to be one of the few director of photographers working today who knows how to lift generously from the arty, static-shot book of Kubrick yet still marry all the style with some substance. Williams is again excellent, and for once the techno-noir score by Reinhold Heil and Johnny Klimek enhances the tension instead of merely irritating. Some may hate One Hour Photo, but I found it to be just unsettling enough that, along with last year's Insomnia, it may prove that this Williams-as-psycho-killer thing was really a good idea after all.

Video: How Does The Disc Look?

One Hour Photo is a visually arresting film, and in many ways may be one of the truest tests of the DVD format and your home theater setup as you're gonna find. The film is filled with long, static shots that are infused with highly saturated, garish colors. Large sections of the film contact huge solid areas of vibrant hues; this makes for a big challenge for the DVD format's MPEG encoding scheme, and can also reveal "deficiencies" in the print, such as grain, color instability and blemishes. Yet despite having its work cut out for it, this transfer handles it all quite beautifully.

Presented in its original 1.85:1 theatrical aspect ratio and anamorphically encoded, Fox has done a very nice job with One Hour Photo. The highly saturated hues come through splendidly; Cronenweth's inventive use of stark whites, heavy splashes of color and intense filters creates an eerie mood, and there is no serious grain or apparent noise present in the transfer to distract. Occasionally, I noticed the slightest bit of "waiver" on the print, meaning large solid patches may slightly flicker, but it is surprisingly minor and likely not to be detectable on anyone with a screen size less than say, 65 inches. Blacks are dead-on and contrast excellent. This transfer is often very detailed, with only the highly stylized filters lending an odd tint to fleshtones and sometimes obscuring shadow delineation. However, this is simply a very torqued-up film, and given the intended stylistic effect, I'd say it looks just great.

Audio: How Does The Disc Sound?

As unique a visual experience as One Hour Photo is, it is also quite startling sonically as well. Veering often harshly from the very quiet to the very dynamic, it's truly exciting because it's so different. I liked Reinhold Heil and Johnny Klimek's electronic, almost ambient score. It adds to the creepy mood and sometimes suddenly explodes in an almost atonal sympathy. It's a great effect and this soundtrack handles it all expertly. Presented in Dolby Digital 5.1 surround, it's a very aggressive mix even though it is often very, very subtle. (Try to watch this one loud or you'll really miss out.) The soundfield is often engaged in the full 360-degrees. Sounds small and large echo around you, and are perfectly balanced with the dialogue. Dynamic range is excellent; the low end, although sometimes sparse, is very powerful. Imaging and transparency are excellent, especially in the neat aggro sounds that emanate from the rears. A very unique, very cool mix.

Also included is a French Dolby 2.0 surround dub, English and Spanish subtitles and English Closed Captions.

Supplements: What Goodies Are There?

While One Hour Photo wasn't a huge hit, Fox Home Entertainment has put together a nice snapshot of supplements that adds considerable insight into the making of this unique thriller.

Best of all is the new screen-specific audio commentary with director Mark Romanek and actor Robin Williams, Making a rare commentary appearance, Williams is surprisingly smart and subdued. He seems to be containing his usual manic energy, and for a film like this, it is very welcome. Thankfully, it sounds as if both were recorded together, as they play off each other well. Romanek is very well versed in the technical hurdles as expected, while both discuss at length the slow descent into madness of the Sy character. It's rare to hear both a director and actor together discussing their approach to a character study but often fascinating. When the film gets ugly in the climax (especially the very uncomfortable hotel room scene) the pair don't shy away from the rough stuff. A very good commentary.

Failing to match the commentary is the 13-minute making-of featurette originally produced for cable. Made before the film was released, it is of the typical promotional variety. Romanek and Williams contribute interviews, and while there's some fairly interesting behind-the-scenes footage, this is no great shakes. Much better is the 35-minute Charlie Rose Show interview with both Williams and Romanek. While some material overlaps with the commentary, Rose's always-probing questions veer off into interesting directions, making this a recommended viewing if the commentary just isn't enough.

Perhaps the best of the video- based features, however, is the 28-minute Sundance Channel special Anatomy of a Scene. While more focused on the film's overall production design and visual style as opposed to dissecting one single scene, it's quite thorough. Contributing new interviews are director of photography Jeff Cronenweth, producer Stan Wlodokoswki and production designer Tom Foden. On par with most Sundance Channel Anatomy of a Scene specials, it is expertly produced, with very well- filmed interviews and excellent editing. A must watch for fans.

Rounding out the package is the film's original theatrical trailer in anamorphic widescreen, plus 3 full frame TV spots.

DVD- ROM Exclusives: What do you get when you pop the disc in your PC?

No ROM extras have been included.

Parting Thoughts