The Safe House - Expositions

Hey folks, Harry here... A very bad man showed me an early print of ONE HOUR PHOTO - immediately upon seeing it, I realized that I must see the film on the big screen before I wrote my review. I realized I needed to see the finished film with the finished score, because the roughcut was so good, that I knew... This was only going to get better, and I didn't want to sell it short. I saw the finished print tonight and what a stunner! Romanek has arrived, and we'll track him from here on out. There's a new badass at the cinemas... his name is Mark Romanek... And Quint is going to tell you why you should pay attention...

Ahoy squirts. Quint, the crustiest of all seaman, here with my review of ONE HOUR PHOTO... again. I reviewed this flick back in the day... back before DEATH TO SMOOCHY came out (way before those creepy ads started appearing on the site, by the way), but I feel compelled to write up a little something more now that I've seen the final cut of the film on the big screen. You can read my initial review here: CLICK HERE

I don't feel any differently about my views of the film (I loved it just as much the second time), but there are a few things I think need to be said since I have now seen the final version of the film as it was meant to be seen. The cut I saw many months ago was the now infamous bootleg that has traveled far and wide online and at collectible shows across the world. I had never reviewed a bootleg before and haven't since and have no plans on doing so thanks in large part to me having seen Mark Romanek's masterful film in it's final theatrical version on the big screen tonight. My reasoning for reviewing the early cut seen on an LA friend's computer is simple... I wanted to tell the world about the movie. Plus one of the first advance screenings waiting for me when I got back to Austin from LA was DEATH TO SMOOCHY, which had another great Robin Williams performance, albeit extremely different than his subdued performance as Sy the Photo Guy in ONE HOUR PHOTO. I was so excited that the Robin Williams I loved was coming back to me. You had raunchy comedy Robin Williams in DEATH TO SMOOCHY and the masterful actor Robin Williams in ONE HOUR PHOTO... Plus at that time I still had INSOMNIA to look forward to for another potentially great William's performance. I was on a Robin Williams high and I wanted to tell the world he was back.

I'm mainly writing this re-review to urge you cinephiles out there who have already watched ONE HOUR PHOTO on your crappy, small and pixilated computer screen to see the film the way it was meant to be seen and hear the film as it was meant to be heard. The photography of the film is masterful, the color selection is shocking and effective, the final score is fucking brilliant (after the movie Harry called it the best John Carpenter score he never wrote). Even if you have the best goddamn computer system and the biggest monitor and the best computer sound system, you're missing out on a huge section of this movie. If you think you like the movie now with the temp score and the muggy picture, you're going to fall in love when you see it big.

Now I'm not here to lecture about the pros and cons of bootlegs. That's a large debate and the place for that debate isn't in this review. All I'm saying is that if you've only seen ONE HOUR PHOTO online, you're missing half the movie. The film's biggest strengths are in the atmosphere (propelled by the score and amazing production design) and in Robin Williams' delicate, honest performance. Having seen both cuts of the film, I'm telling you folks you need to see this final version on the big screen with an audience or you're cheating yourself out of the film.

I didn't think it'd be a big audience experience movie when I saw it for the first time as it's a film that relies on character and mood instead of comedy or jump scares... Boy was I wrong. The audience I saw it with tonight was following the film closely, reacting in hushed whispers that swept up and down the stadium seating theater like wind blowing through tall grass. When Williams does a creepy thing or when a key plot point is revealed, the audience would gasp and shh-bshh-shh-whis-sshhh to their neighbors, friends, family, etc. Plus hearing that simple yet amazing score by Reinhold Heil and Johnny Klimek really gets your pulse pounding.

For those that want to know the differences in the theatrical cut and the earlier cut I'll go into what I noticed while watching the theatrical version tonight. To start off, the movie now opens with Sy getting interrogated by Eriq La Salle, so you know something happens... You know Sy does something that puts him in that interrogation room and that adds to the tension of the film. Missing is the "Red Eye" speech Sy gives, which I miss because it perfectly sets up one of my favorite scenes in the film: Sy's nightmare. Thankfully, the nightmare is still there and even creepier on the big screen with Reinhold Heil and Johnny Klimek's great score driving it.

There's a new scene of Connie Nielson arguing with her husband (Michael Vartan) about him being an emotionally neglectful husband and father. I couldn't tell if the scene was a reshoot or just added back in after the first cut, but it's not a bad scene. It's not jaw-droppingly great either, but it does set up some imperfections in the core family that Sy covets so much.

I know I keep talking about it, but the number one reason for me urging a theatrical viewing of ONE HOUR PHOTO is Reinhold Heil and Johnny Klimek's score. They use a great, light orchestral underscore to back up the jarring chimes and drum beats that really take ONE HOUR PHOTO to a new level. The score acts as a magnifying glass. The script is still great without it, the performances are still amazing without it, but without that score in the movie it would seem... I don't know... duller. Less impactful. The score multiplies the impact of the great writing, the great atmosphere, the great performances from everyone involved... Makes them sharper, more intense... You know... Does was a score is supposed to do.

I think that's all I have to say. This is an incredible film that will surely reward Williams with an Oscar nod for Best Actor, Romanek with writing and/or direction and Jeff Cronenweth with cinematography. At least I would hope so. From one movie lover to another, see this film big and loud. If you only see this film on the small screen, you'll regret it. At any rate, I better be shoving off. I'll be back soon with some coolness... 'Til then, this is Quint bidding you all a fond farewell and adieu.

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