Read more about Seymour 'Sy' Parrish at: Wikipedia

Official Site: Fox Searchlight

One Hour Photo is a 2002 American psychological thriller written and directed by Mark Romanek and starring Robin Williams. Fox Searchlight Pictures distributed the film in the United States. One Hour Photo also starred Connie Nielsen, Michael Vartan, Gary Cole, and Eriq La Salle. Williams won a Saturn Award for Best Actor (2003) for his work in the film.

Seymour "Sy" Parrish, a mini-lab photo technician at SavMart's one-hour photo developing clinic in suburban Los Angeles, leads a depressing, solitary life outside of the "heaven-like", hyperreality atmosphere of the department store. Every day he labors to ensure his customers get the best quality photos possible; his life is truly his work, as he has no one and nothing to go home to at the end of each day. As each workday comes to an end, Sy falls into the inescapable routine of spending his evenings sitting alone in his barren living room, watching television. The only thing in Sy's immaculate apartment he has for companionship is a hamster, caged in his bedroom. He is an extremely organized, tidy, and meticulous type of person who wears all beige attire. Feeling out of place in a world where nobody seems to understand the precious gift of friends and family, Sy tends to immerse himself in his own fantasies to escape the pain of his existence.

His favorite customers are the Yorkin family, made up of husband Will (Michael Vartan), wife Nina (Connie Nielsen), and their son, Jake (Dylan Smith). He has done their photos for years and, over time, has developed an obsession with the family; he idolizes their happiness and affluence, memorizes every personal detail about them that he can learn, and finally begins to stalk them. Sy secretly makes his own copies of the Yorkins' photos from the film negatives and then puts them on a wall in his apartment, a massive collage which has accumulated to over 600 in count. Most of all, he fantasizes about being a member of their family and sharing in the love he assumes they must feel. However, he is painfully shy and his awkward attempts to become closer to the family are gently rebuffed.

Sy eventually manages to spark a connection to Nina when he pretends to have interest in a novel he noticed she had been reading on a particular day in the store. For the first time, Nina asks Sy personal questions about his life, realizing that he is indeed a lonely man, something only Jake had empathetically noticed earlier. This connection is short-lived, however, as Sy's boss, Mr. Owens, fires him the next day for stealing prints. While inspecting his photos for the last time, Sy discovers that Will is having an affair and his idyllic conception of the Yorkins as the 'perfect' family is shattered. He comes to hate and envy Will, who has everything Sy longs for, yet doesn't seem to care.

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