The Little Things That Complete the Picture

By Josh Yagley

One Hour Photo stands out from most films. Strictly speaking there is no one villain, no single person that
the audience is calling to be crucified throughout the entirety of the movie. Instead there is series of great
missteps from both conflicting parties that create tension. Characters interact with disturbed intentions
and precede forward thinking “Well it’s not going to hurt anyone. So it’s okay.”

One Hour Photo is told from the perspective of Seymour Parrish, better known by the name of Sy, who
methodically and lovingly makes photos at a generic American Super Market. His character takes great
pride in the focus and skill he uses to craft perfectly toned and true to source photographs in one hour.
This obsession for perfection is brilliant explained in the line, “When people's houses are on fire, what's
the first thing they save after their pets and loved ones are saved? Their family photos.” For his dedication
to his photos and the art of photography, he is, by any definition, an artist and completely dedicated to his
works. And this obsession in his customers photos and the lives that they hold, made him very attentive to
others needs and he loved his job for it. However, there is nothing else that allowed him a well rounded
life and he is completely focuses on nothing but his photos. Complicated further he bears an incredible
loneliness that is nearly unfathomable to most, and suffers a severe depression due to this. Sy's anguish
(played by Robin Williams) is perfectly communicated through his performance of the heart wrenching
character. A man lost in his photographs searching for a place in the snapshots of other peoples’ lives.

There is one specific family that Sy has taken a particularly great interest in, The Yorkins. The Yorkins
are dedicated customers and have been coming to Sy for their photos since before their child was born.
They are a picture perfect family that is only fit for the demo photo in a store bought picture frame. It's
also clear that early on Sy became obsessed with their beautiful home and perfect life. And he longs for a
place in the family where he would be always be warmly welcomed and loved. But no matter how long
he tries to recreate their lives in his head, Sy is still alone, completely lost in his thoughts and pictures of
people that don’t know him.

Sy did understand that it was impossible for him to be in their family at least on a certain level. He
recognized that he would only be able to watch them from a far no matter how much he tried. So Sy,
constructs a monument to their perfect life, a wall covered with his their photos allowing him a mode to
escape from his loneliness, into his idealized fantasy of a life. Obviously, for an obsessive person, this
isn't enough for Sy and he continues to push his way into their family through photos of himself in their
personal orders; watching their child play soccer while no one else is there; and visiting their house while
they aren’t home. Sy, on a number of occasions, crossed the line of curiosity and became completely
obsessed and stalking this family. But the closer he looks at the Yorkins, Sy realizes that their life is far
from perfect.

Will Yorkin is a charming, young, powerful owner of a successful company. He has a beautiful wife and
a genuinely kind son. They all live in an incredibly nice home together, and life seems to be just going his
way. But he's bored and feels like nothing is able to stop him, so he starts cheating on his wife with his
co-worker. He doesn't think much of it, and he enjoys the excitement of adultery.

Will Yorkin is the exact opposite of Sy in nearly every way and plays the role of the antagonist. But really
what was Will Yorkin doing with his actions? As an adulterer he was misusing the trust his family had for
him. He set a poor example for his son, and he has put everything he holds important on the line in order
to partake in this fling with his co-worker. He was ignorant, selfish, destructive and arrogant.

But for Sy, when he found out that Will Yorkin was cheating on his wife it was something far more
meaningful to him than the matter of this relationship in the family. The Yorkins represented perfection,
happiness in his bleak miserable life, something worth living for, a goal that he set for himself, the
pinnacle of living the good life. When he found out that the Will cheated on his wife, his entire life fell
apart. This is why Sy slipped that photograph of Will cheating into his Wife's order. First and foremost,
he was seeking revenge, not for her, but for himself. Will took Sy's delusion away from him and now he
is going to suffer.

This is why Sy inform Will's wife in a graceful manner. Sy is attempting to destroy not just Will but this
entire home and all its pretenses. For this, when Sy sees how the family just tries to ignore this great rift
in their relationship and attempts to simply move on. Sy gets incredibly angry. He had so desperately tried
to destroy their world like they did his, but he had failed.

After this, Sy in his final bout, attempts to dismantle this family by kidnapping Will and his girlfriend,
forcing the couple to pose in sexual positions without them ever touching. Sy then leaves and is shortly
thereafter arrested by the police. He tells the police, "But I only took pictures."

Clearly, the Sy character suffers from a severe case of Psychotic Depression or PMD. PMD is a psychosis
that can seem similar to schizophrenia, but in fact it's actually an extreme form of depression, with many
bipolar patients suffering PMD episodes while in a depressive state. A common symptom of PMD is the
suffering person will frequently have delusions. PMD is also more commonly found in episodic events
and the sufferer will rarely continuously suffer from the disorder like the Sy character did. But PMD is
surprisingly common with an estimated 1 in 250 people suffering from the disorder. And it’s just as
emotionally intense for many.
Considering that One-Hour Photo is a dramatized situation, the portrayal of PMD and how it affected Sy
is surprisingly similar to stories of other persons diagnosed with PMD. But one positive aspect is that
with many people diagnosed with PMD after one year of treatment they are able to make great strides in
recovery. So maybe Sy will finally get the help he needs after the credits role. Who knows maybe One-
Hour Photo has a happy ending for Sy that just wasn’t filmed, where he recovers fully after treatment. But
considering the Yorkins, I don’t know how much of a happy ending it would be having Sy get out of
prison with a new love for life, and this family be psychologically scarred for the rest of theirs. I think
that final plot point is a bit too dark for even the most morbid director.