It would be a shame, however, not to notice that this is also a very well-made film. A very sad but all-too-familiar story about loneliness and social isolation unfolds at a compelling pace, with a script that resists patronizing its subject or sensationalizing it. We have no choice but to notice the use of color to distinguish worlds; the flat, washed-out landscape in which Sy is imprisoned, and the lush, brilliant hues of the family life he aches for.

As events unfold, we stick to Sy's personal tragedy and his rage rather than follow standard horror-movie cliches, making the suspense and the horror genuine and harrowing. Do not less this one pass by.

This is most certainly Robin Williams scariest role to date and one in which he's least like himself as he's completely suppressed his comedic nature for the almost clinical persona of Seymour "Sy" Parish. He certainly deserves any and all accolades he earns from this film. Connie Nielsen performs admirably in this film as well.

In his feature film directing debut, Mark Romanek has written and directed a pure psychological thriller masterpiece. From the simple concept of looking at a SavMart like store and coming up with this script, he has shown an amazing talent. This is a director whose films are to be looked out for in the future.

The soundtrack for this film is also quite dead on with every sequence and adds beautifully to the suspenseful nature of the film.

The premise:

Seymour "Sy" Parish (Robin Williams) works at the local SavMart as the photo technician. He's been working there for eleven years and in a large sense he has no life other than his job. During his daily routine at work, he sees everybody's lives, or more succinctly, their more joyful moments, in the pictures they bring in to be developed. Somewhere along the line he has become thoroughly infatuated with one particular family, the Yorkins. Sy even fantasizes about being Uncle Sy in the Yorkin family.

When Sy suddenly suffers a catastrophic event in his life, he essentially flips all the way off of the rocker and what follows from there simply has to be one of the most suspenseful thrillers that this viewer has watched in quite some time.

I highly recommend this film to any and all fans of this genre; it will make an excellent addition to your DVD library and will stand up quite well to multiple viewings. {ssintrepid}

Special Features:

- Writer, Director and Actor Commentary
- "Anatomy of a Scene" Sundance Channel Featurette
- "Making of" Featurette
- "The Charlie Rose Show" Interview with Robin Williams and Mark Romanek
- Theatrical Trailer and TV Spots

Robin Williams gives one of his best performances to date as an appearingly mild mannered yet devious photo clerk who takes his job as a photo tech at the local "Sav-Mart' a bit too serious because it appears to be all he has.

His emotional pathology becomes progressively evident and alarming as he becomes increasingly 'over-involved' with a family that brings in their photos to his store for processing. Although he blatantly oversteps some major boundaries, he does so in such a way that the seriousness of his disturbance is not realized soon enough. Some of his bizarre behaviors lead your thoughts to very dark places while at the same time, the pity his character generates, makes you want to believe that maybe his motivations really aren't that pathological.

Because Williams character evokes such a wide range of emotion, your own feelings towards him vaccilate. He is devious yet likable even amidst his pervading creepiness. Although appearingly generally mild mannered and timid, he has his moments of assertiveness and later, 'over the edge' aggressiveness and righteous indignation.

The cinematography and visual imagery is excellent and brilliantly contrasts the drab, washed out and somewhat color-less life of William's character to that of the vivid and vibrant family he becomes "focused" on.

It's a good psychological thriller. Like a photo snapshot, there's much more to this film than what we see on the surface.