Mark Romanek’s One Hour Photo is a subtle yet highly skilled montage of the stylistic and artistic use of filming and photography. This article will analyze such details as camera angle, editing style, lighting choices, shot composition, set design, and color schemes as they relate to telling the plot of the movie.
For an opening example: the story centers around still photography, and many of the shots appear brightly colored and overexposed, as is often seen in photographs. In addition to that, certain sets are prepared to look absolutely meticulous, if not “picture perfect.” These little details, which may be overlooked during casual viewings, deserve attention and study as they add to the overall complexity of the film.
To study this film, the analysis will start at the beginning; that is, the opening credits. The credits appear as white words on a black background, static for a few seconds, and then there is the circle of flashing light in the background, much like the flash of a camera. Immediately after the flash, the words turn red, and then fade to black, similarly to a picture in a darkroom being exposed and developed. This dissolve/develop idea is repeated several times throughout the movie, such as when a scene would transition in a dramatically slow dissolve, like the development of a Polaroid picture.
This movie makes use of several techniques familiar to photography, with the primary one being framing. Throughout the movie, the cinematographer makes insightful use of this technique. In the beginning of the movie, Sy (Robin Williams) is shot framed through the two-way window in the police station. There are many other examples of framing by windows, such as when Sy’s boss is framed through his observation window in the store’s office, and the Yorkin family is framed through their picture window while at their kitchen table.
There is also framing through mirrors, such as when Sy looks in the mirror in the Sav-Mart restroom. His face is perfectly framed like a senior class photograph or perhaps even a mug shot, with the words “Check Your Smile” printed above his reflection. Later, Sy opens a reflective knife case, and he is again framed in that makeshift mirror. When Sy is following Nina’s car, Jake sees Sy’s car framed in the rear view mirror of the Yorkin family’s car. Other examples of framing occur in Sav-Mart and in Sy’s apartment, where there are multiple long hallways or aisles.
When Sy enters his lonely apartment, he must pass through a long hallway, making him appear even more alone. Towards the middle of the movie, Sy meets Jake in a park at the boy’s practice. They stroll through the brightly lit and colorful park, artistically framed by two tall, magnificent trees, both of which are in pitch black silhouette, making the sunny center seem like a photo in a frame. The final example of framing occurs after Sy is fired and he enters Sav-Mart to drop off some threatening photos. He stands for a moment framed by sliding doors and the words “Thank You for Shopping at Sav-Mart.”
Another element reminiscent of photography is the cinematographer’s use of color throughout the movie. Inside Sav-Mart, everything is picture perfect, not a shelf is out of order. The walls are glaringly white, uninterrupted by any texture or shading, almost glowing. All of the colors within Sav-Mart are rich, bright, almost bleeding. They appear somewhat like colors seen in an overexposed photograph. Later, the police station has the same pure white, overexposed feeling to it. The only times this color rule is broken within Sav-Mart are nights, when it is bathed with a blue light, and after Sy gets fired. When he returns to the photo booth from his boss’ office, the store is suddenly gray-tinged, far dimmer and more depressing than it had ever been. The only other shift in Sav-Mart color is immediately after Sy finds evidence of Will Yorkin’s infidelity. For a few seconds, he is bathed in deep red light, somewhat like the light in a darkroom, except here is used to accent his anger.
Sy’s eyes are an unnatural, piercingly cold blue throughout the entire movie, and his apartment is completely white and beige; neutral, unimposing, uninteresting. During one scene, Sy enters his kitchen wearing an off-white shirt and light gray pants. He blends completely into his room; there is nothing distinguishable about him. This white, bland composition stands in strong contrast to the colorful, overly decorated Yorkin house, which is always tinged with a warm orange light. This depicts the difference between Sy’s home life and that seemingly perfect life of the Yorkin family.
The final example of color use is perhaps the most brilliant in the film. At the start of the movie, the process of photo development is shown. Each picture is bathed with light, one color after the next, until all are clearly developed. One of Sy’s typical evenings is detailed, and he begins in the bright white Sav-Mart, which turns to blue when night settles in. After leaving the store, he enters the Sav-Mart parking lot which is bathed in a greenish glow. He then proceeds to a dumpy restaurant, which has a sickly yellow hue, and then to driving, which is greenish-blue once again, and finally to his apartment, white. It is almost as if Sy himself is being developed.
The dialogue makes use of several puns, all of which are related to photography. Will tells Nina, in reference to their beautiful, interior-design-show-style home, “If you want our lives to look like something out of a magazine…” At Jake’s soccer practice, Sy tells him “Great shot,” a double entendre. The final pun being used as an example is at the end of the movie, when Sy says to Will and Maya, “Got the picture?” By this he means, “Do you understand?” however there is also the obvious allusion to photography.
The film also utilized some composition techniques originally developed by Alfred Hitchcock. These are perspective shots which are done to make a character look either threatening or threatened, depending on the situation. For example, when Sy is studying the mosaic of pictures of the Yorkin family which he has compulsively fixed to his wall, the camera catches him from above, making him appear small, helpless, cowering to his obsession. Later, when he makes the decision to expose Will’s infidelity, he climbs onto a ladder in order to scratch Will Yorkin from each picture, and the camera looks up at him from beneath, giving him a dominant, menacing, and powerful feel.
All of these subtle, almost unnoticeable, techniques combine to create a very interesting effect. It appears that the cinematographer is echoing the photography preoccupation that plagues the main character. All of these elements of color, light density, spatial layout, and camera positions blend to create an eerie reiteration of the movie’s central idea. In this way, the cinematography becomes a powerful piece of the storytelling puzzle.
