Rating- * * * * * (5/5)
Every great actor comes to a point in his career when he sheds what made him famous and takes on the roles that define him as an artist. John Wayne, James Stewart and Michael Caine all had incredible transformations late in their careers where they each took on roles against their typecast; roles that moved and amazed audiences and critics alike. Robin Williams, it seems may be reaching a similar point in his career. In the mid-‘90s it was clear that Williams was taking an interest in more serious roles like Jack, Patch Adams and the ill-conceived Bicentennial Man, but while his performances were certainly genuine, the films themselves left a lot to be desired. But recently Williams has acquired a taste for good scripts and when he appeared earlier this year in Christopher Nolan’s Insomnia opposite Al Pacino, it was clear his career was on the right track. In Insomnia, Williams played a disturbed and ingenius killer but this latest offering from writer/director Mark Romanek has Williams in a slightly less lethal and slightly more creepy role. Williams plays Sy Parrish, known to everyone as “Sy the Photo Guy” who works at the local Savmart photo counter. Sy is a diligent employee; instead of 4x6 he’ll give you 5x7, and if he likes you sometimes he can get you your photos in 45 minutes. The only thing about Sy is that when the Yorkin family drops off their photos, he makes an extra print and tapes them to his living room wall. Yes, it is very creepy but we start to feel sorry for Sy rather than fear him. Sy has needs just like the rest of us; he needs love, family and acceptance and in a way, the Yorkins give him that. Well, at least he imagines they do. By keeping all of their photos, Sy makes the Yorkins his own family; he goes on their vacations, he celebrates their special occasions and he watches their son Jake grow up. Sy’s entire existence becomes based on the Yorkins and finding someway to gain love and acceptance from this family. It’s not a sexual thing; whether or not Sy might be attracted to Nina Yorkin, the family matriarch, is not really his concern. He’d be content with just being “Uncle Sy” who hangs out on the weekends and drinks beer and watches football with the family. All this imaginary harmony is upset one day when Sy makes a discovery about Nina’s husband, Will Yorkin that suggests he might not be the ideal husband and father he once appeared to be. Sy feels betrayed and protective of “his family” and he takes the problem into his own hands. I’m afraid I can’t elaborate any more on the story without ruining it but this film is really more about character and visual style than story. Sy is a remarkably deep and complex character who lives in a world entirely removed from reality. He reminds me a little of Norman Bates in that he acts totally normal for what he thinks is reality, only his reality doesn’t quite mesh with ours. This is a film that you could go back and analyze and find some new nuance about the characters each time; the mark of a great film. This is also the performance of a career by Robin Williams and I would watch for Oscar buzz come January. Above all this though, the real accomplishment of this film is the visual achievement. The cinematography and set design in this film is some of the most unique and stylish I’ve ever seen and does more for setting the disturbing tone than anything else in the film. If this film doesn’t deserve an Oscar nod, I don’t know what does. This is the kind of sharp, unapologetic film that I’ve been asking for and I’m glad to see work like this making it to the big screen. Obviously, I highly recommend this film but I caution viewers who are sensitive to subject matter like stalking and there is also one rather graphic dream sequence which could offend the squeamish. If you can get around these things, this is one of the best films of the year; do yourself a favor and experience it.