“One Hour Photo” (Fox Searchlight, R) is a film about a sad man trapped in a lonely world of photo finishing and fluorescent lighting. The man finds refuge in a world where people only photograph their happy moments, the moments they want to remember. After all, as the man tells us, no one takes pictures of something they want to forget.

Seymour “Sy” Parrish (Robin Williams) is a photo technician at the Sav-Mart retail superstore. Sy is a somber, quiet man whom we quickly learn is devoted to his craft. Sy’s appearance alone labels him a man on the brink of a meltdown. His receding bleach blonde hair and ultra-conservative demeanor pass him off as a man whose world is stuck in slow motion. His smile cannot hide the deep sense of isolation that can be seen in his eyes.

Nina Yorkin (Connie Nielsen) is one of Sy’s most devoted customers. Early on we learn that Sy is a little too keen toward Nina and her family. Sy likes to make extra copies of the Yorkin family photos and pretends to others that he indeed is part of their family. Perhaps the creepiest relationship in the film is that of Sy and Jake Yorkin (Dylan Smith III), Nina’s 9-year-old son. Jake is the only character throughout the film to see beyond Sy’s phony smiles and see a man who is troubled and in need of help.

Where the film’s director, Mark Romanek, most succeeds is in creating an eerie aura around all of the relationships between Sy and the other characters. We don’t feel contempt toward Sy or see him as a deranged psychopath. Instead, Romanek makes the audience sympathize with Sy, which in turn makes events later in the film all the more shocking.

Romanek escalates Sy’s frantic behavior in a way that is unique and unconventional. In one instance, he uses scenes from an episode of “The Simpsons” to foreshadow the revelation of Sy’s extreme obsession with the Yorkin family. The musical score accompanying such scenes is the film’s only flaw. At times the score is so over dramatic that I found myself waiting for Sideshow Bob to appear.

However, the plot thickens immensely when Sy learns of a secret Mr. Yorkin (Michael Vartan) is keeping from the family. Sy reveals this secret, which leads to a shockingly disturbing comeuppance for one of the characters in the film. This deranged, non-Hollywood climax is sure to restart the age-old debate as to whether a certain other “retail-mart” should continue selling deadly weapons.

Is it the fluorescent glow of the capitalistic monster that Sy works for that drives him into madness? Or is it the exposure to all of the joys in life that he lacks and so desperately craves that pushes him over the edge? Sy’s world is one too complex to fully understand after all is said and done.

This film oozes with disturbing greatness and is nearly flawless. First, the success of this film has to be credited to Robin Williams. His facial expressions alone give a gray, silent character so much life and depth. Through his still, silent presence lies an overwhelming trauma. Not many actors could pull off such a performance, yet Williams makes it look simple.

Gary Cole gives an excellent supporting performance as Bill Owen, Sy’s boss at the Sav-Mart. Many remember Cole as Bill Lumbergh of the 1999 comedy “Office Space.” The film wants us to sympathize with Sy so much that when Bill pops up with his reality checks he comes off as nasty. Audiences may see him as one of the film’s villains when, in reality, he is one of the film’s only voices of reason.

The film’s greatest achievement lies in its photography. Director Mark Romanek and cinematographer Jeff Cronenweth take the suspense-thriller to new levels through inventive camera work and impeccable lighting.

There are multiple tracking shots of Sy running to show us his desperation to flee from his emotional troubles. There is a short, but amazing shot involving an escalator that foreshadows the escalation of Sy’s unpredictable, manic behavior. Romanek’s use of overwhelming fluorescent lighting gives Sy’s world a look of blinding desperation. Romanek and Cronenweth take a film that could have been predictable and tired and make it refreshingly original with a look absolutely unique to itself.

“One Hour Photo” is a suspenseful drama that pays off on all levels. It’s a must-see film that will have audiences cringing in the theaters, as well as the next time they drop off their next roll of film.