Most people don’t think twice about the person behind the counter at a photo-developing store. But, depending on the nature of the photos you take, you may well have to trust this person as much as your doctor, or even more! Just think what could happen if you’ve taken a picture that no one in the world should see but you, and this person behind the counter not only decides to keep a copy of it, but decides to show it to other people too. That person that you don’t think twice about has a lot more power thank you think.

The photo counter at Savmart is a place where the neighborhood people come to get fast, cheap photofinishing. It’s a place most people don’t think of as more than a simple convenience; but to Sy Parrish, a photo counter is a lot more. Sy takes his job seriously, very seriously, since he knows most of these photos are lasting memories for the many families in the area. Sy reminds us, "No one ever takes a photograph of something they want to forget." If a family’s house burns down, he goes on to explain, memories stay alive through the photos that remain -- providing they make it through the fire. So, he feels his job is as important as any and he processes these photos as if they were his own.

Sy loves his job and knows many of his customers’ names and addresses by heart, and he anticipates their next visit. The Yorkins, with their young son Jakob, know him simply as "Sy the photo guy." But Sy knows much more about them than they do about him because he’s lived with them through their photos. Sy, we learn, is lonely and has no family of his own. He loves creating these photos, but he also fantasizes through them and he ends up singling out the Yorkins as a surrogate family for himself; he dreams that one day he can be something like their uncle.

One Hour Photo is a clever and original thriller that takes a seemingly ordinary and inconspicuous setting and turns it into something genuinely scary. Williams is perfect as Sy, playing him with a nerdish demeanor and never going over the top. There’s something obviously wrong with Sy, but from what we gather, Sy knows it too. As a result, despite his thoughts and desperation to be accepted, he’s wise enough to stay a distance from his customers, never going too far. It’s only when he’s pushed over the edge does he overstep the line.

One Hour Photo is opening slowly across the country, likely because they know what a good film this is and they’re relying more on slow-building word of mouth rather than a big-splash marketing campaign. It opened three weeks later here than in some other markets, but the wait was worth it. One Hour Photo is a **** treat for the fall season that might have you thinking about buying a digital camera and tossing the regular one.

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