One Hour Photo : Sy a Victim of Sexual Abuse?

Sy a Victim of Sexual Abuse?

I just watched the whole film this weekend. Based on the conversation he has with the detective near the end of the flick, Sy may have been sexually abused by his mother (or maybe she enabled his abuser). It would explain his obsession with a seemingly normal family, his outrage and betrayal over the husband's adultery and him forcing the lovers to simulate sex so he could photograph it. He carried around that old photo of his mother and talked about her in a way reminiscent of Norman Bates in Psycho ("a boy's best friend is his mother.")

Re: Sy a Victim of Sexual Abuse?

I think that photo of "his mother" is not really his mother, because he bought that in a flea market-- not sure why though. Maybe it was so that he could pretend he had someone else for a mother instead of the sexually abusive one he had?

But yeah, it did seem like he suffered as a child and did not want it to happen to the Yorkins by pretending he was part of the family..

Re: Sy a Victim of Sexual Abuse?

Also he tells the detective (indirectly) that he was photographed doing degrading things, things a child should never be subjected to.
Yet when he punishes the husband and his lover, photographing them doing bizarre psuedosexual things together, he does not actually let the camera record the acts he forced them to enact, but instead he photographs odd places around the room.
I guess he did this partly from a perspective of shame, and partly of out the disgust in doing it, and partly because he wanted to punish them, but could never bring himself to do to them what his abusers did to him.

I definitely agree that he was an abuse victim.

His dream also lets us see a glimpse into his psyche.

His eyes are closed,but when opened they gush blood.
What has he seen that his eyes bleed to take in (or recall) such sights?

His friendship, and loyalty to the family is vicarious, and sad. He wants to protect the wife, nuture the boy, befriend the husband, because he never received these things when he was a child.

Re: Sy a Victim of Sexual Abuse?

"he does not actually let the camera record the acts he forced them to enact, but instead he photographs odd places around the room. "

He did take photographs of them in the sexual acts, there were two rolls.

Re: Sy a Victim of Sexual Abuse?

The photo was just a random picture he found at a flea. He chose that picture because I guess it's because it reminds him of his mother.

The ending did raise a question for me....The photo at the end showing all of them in a photo together is because


I think he knew the family outside the photo shop and he was treated as an outcast for some reason?
or
was it because when it was explained to the Yorkin they forgave him and accepted him into their family as the "Family" he longed for.

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Re: Sy a Victim of Sexual Abuse?

Heh I always thought it was because he saw nasty photos too. I suppose it comes with being a photo developer.

However Sy being a victim of abuse makes a lot more sense. Not sure how I didn't pick up on it sooner. It explains his entire life. He was abused and we assume his abuser took photos. His job at a photo lab lets him see what a normal life looks like. His extra care in the photos is the icing on the cake. The reason he had to buy that photo was because it's likely he had no photos of his family (for understandable reasons as we think his abuser was his family).

His perfect little life (well maybe not...he had little sanity left but enough to keep him from being harmful) came tumbling down when he saw a perfect family fell just like he did. Then he lost his job. He had nothing to live for at that point.

Thus he came up with the plan to "take photos" of the husband and mistress. Making them do things Sy might have been forced to do. They do say victims of abuse become the abuser. However unlike himself where the photos of him being abused are a reminder that incident happened, he took photos out of focus.

What happened to Sy is unclear. There was no way he was going to get away from it that was for sure.

Re: Sy a Victim of Sexual Abuse?

Mark Romanek (the director) has confirmed that Sy was a victim of sexual abuse at the hands of his father.

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Re: Sy a Victim of Sexual Abuse?

Probably yes, but probably not of his parents. He could have been and then taken away by the state luckily and finally.

IMHWO I think his parents didn't sexually abuse him but they were neglectful. He never talks about his dad and just finds a picture of his mother and even then he doesn't mention too much. My guess is he never had a dad just a mother, but the mother died a long time ago probably while he was still in grade school. (He talks about his mother like he really liked her and missed her) Then he had to go to an all boys home, where he became a victim of sexual abuse since he mentions mono and hepatitis. During one winter when he tried to prevail he got his shoulder broken where he had to wear that odd cast.

The thing is that he applies at the end about the sick photographs is probably kiddy porn he saw while at his job which made him sick and brought back bad memories.

I mean it really is clear that Sy was sexually abused but the film doesn't at all give much hint about his parents. I would think if his parents were responsible there would be more of a hint about it. To me, Sy never had a dad and lost his mom while he was in grade school.

UPDATED:
More so there's a crack on Sy's windshield, that raises question. Meaning probably some punk bully did it.

"Be excellent to each other...And....Party on!"

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Re: Sy a Victim of Sexual Abuse? moron…..

Are you posting in front of a mirror, perhaps?

Re: Sy a Victim of Sexual Abuse?

"The ending did raise a question for me....The photo at the end showing all of them in a photo together is because

I think he knew the family outside the photo shop and he was treated as an outcast for some reason?
or
was it because when it was explained to the Yorkin they forgave him and accepted him into their family as the "Family" he longed for."

Um..that wasn't real. That was what Sy wanted ..to be a part of that family. Why would they would invite the man who stalked their lives for at least 9 years and pretty much sexually abused the husband and his mistress into their family?

I'm just a musical prostitute, my dear. -Freddie Mercury

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Re: Sy a Victim of Sexual Abuse?

Sy had several monologues that were cut from the final version in which he implies that he never had his picture taken as a child, other than the sick degrading ones, and that he was neglected and abused by his father. His mother's involvement is never really known, perhaps she left the family when he was young. Point is that his past is very very mysterious and we don't know much about him other than his career as a photo tech spanning 20 years.

Re: Sy a Victim of Sexual Abuse?

Thanks for filling that in for us. May I ask how you came about this information? Is there a DC (director's cut or extended cut released?)

Re: Sy a Victim of Sexual Abuse?

Don't forget the diseases he claimed to have as a child - mono (which can be acquired from kissing) and hepatitis (which can be sexually transmitted).

Re: Sy a Victim of Sexual Abuse?

And the broken arm...(shudder). His sick bastard father broke it.

Re: Sy a Victim of Sexual Abuse?

I liked how his entire color scheme was White - or rather, Blank. Like in the hotel lobby scene, he stands out as the only non-black dressed man there. Or the blank photo he picks up. Or the empty white dream supermarket. Or lots of other things.
He's essentially purged himself of life because he wants to forget his childhood abuse. So he has nothing, just a blank slate, and becomes obsessed with the people who have everything.

But yes, he definitely got abused (I liked how the cop understood him)...

Re: Sy a Victim of Sexual Abuse?

"That which people fear the most is what has already happened to them."

Upon my second viewing, I realized this quotation confirms everything.

Re: Sy a Victim of Sexual Abuse?

Based on the conversation Sy and the detective have, Sy was sexually abused by both his parents...and they took photos of it.
This is mainly why Sy loves working with happy, smiling family photos: Its the opposite of what he grew up associating family life & photos with. He wants to symbolically *erase* what happened to him, and the associations with it.
He wants to be a member of a warm, loving family so very badly.

He buys the photo at the flea market because he likely knows at some point he'll talk personal talk with Nina Yorkin (he does everything he can to make that happen later) and he doesn't want her to know that he has no one. He doesn't even have a photo of his mother, but he wants her to think he had someone who cared for him.



"I'd say this cloud is Cumulo Nimbus."
"Didn't he discover America?"
"Penfold, shush."

Re: Sy a Victim of Sexual Abuse?


Seemed to me that it was a matter of fitting in. He tried on the lifestyle. He even sat in his car and fantasized about trying on the lifestyle when he imagined himself invading their home.
He buys the picture at the flea market to "have" a mother, he buys the same book the mother is reading because that's what she is doing - and she's part of a life he wants. He wants to taste the things they taste, see what they see, know what they know.

He has nothing, he is nothing. He sees this family and their life as completely perfect. As he says early on, he sees their life as a sequence of perfect moments and it looks idyllic, flawless to him. It's the happiness he's never known, and the love he's never felt. It's simply everything he could ever want, and for a time he just lives vicariously through them and imagines himself as a part of the life they have - seen in the pictures. The life he believes they have.

That is why he flips when he finds out what the father is up to. It instantly took the perfect life off the pedestal and he watched the idea of that life come crashing down. As far as he was concerned, it was like the father was commiting sin in the garden of eden; he was taking perfection and soiling it.

I also believe this is the reason for the dream he has with the blood from the eyes. His eyes were closed, things were perfect... but now what he's seen (the pictures) have completely decimated that scene. It's the truth, the dirty secret, the filth. It can never go back to the way it was.

Lastly, the abuse, I think, is the reason that he didn't take pictures of the acts that he made maya and the father perform at the end. I think he used the idea of it as a punishment because it's the worst thing he ever knew to do to someone else. But, as he says early on in the film, people never take pictures of things they don't want to remember. I always sort of thought that was the ultimate reason behind it. He was so disgusted with what the father did to his wife and son by cheating and ruining perfection, that he took it upon himself to hurt the guy in the worst way that he knew... but couldn't bring himself to do exactly what had been done to him as a child. He didn't want to remember it, just use it.

Re: Sy a Victim of Sexual Abuse?


Lastly, the abuse, I think, is the reason that he didn't take pictures of the acts that he made maya and the father perform at the end.

Sy DID take photos of Maya and Will. The detective mentions this very quickly at the beginning of the film:
Detective: "We processed the roll of film we found in the camera. Not very pretty pictures.
We also processed the roll of the film we found in your hotel room."
Sy: "Can I see them?"
Detective: "Its not a courtesy, Mr. Parrish. Its evidence."

Then at the end:
Sy: "Can I see my pictures now?"
Detective: "Sure, Sy."
The photos Sy lays out on the table are the ones found in his hotel room, not the roll that was in the camera.


"I'd say this cloud is Cumulo Nimbus."
"Didn't he discover America?"
"Penfold, shush."

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Re: Sy a Victim of Sexual Abuse?

Yep, Sy took photos of Will & Maya. The detective says this to Sy at the beginning. He says it so fast (and softly) that it was easy to miss.



"I'd say this cloud is Cumulo Nimbus."
"Didn't he discover America?"
"Penfold, shush."

Re: Sy a Victim of Sexual Abuse?

Erm, Sy wouldn't have touched a digital camera with a bargepole, if you listen to all the things he said during the film :). But surely it's possible to "take pictures" with a film camera without any film inside?

Re: Sy a Victim of Sexual Abuse?

Thanks for posting this. I missed it the first time.Others missed it also.

Re: Sy a Victim of Sexual Abuse?

Wow.

Well put.

Re: Sy a Victim of Sexual Abuse?

Thank you for the explanation. I just watched this last week and my mind was reeling afterwards. I was expecting gore! I was expecting Sy to kill either the husband, Maya, or both, and that it was going to be a really f-cked up ending. However, it just ends with him getting caught, and merely wanting to look at the pictures he took of the hotel room. I found it so odd that the whole movie was leading up to something so... not-that-intense. I mean, yeah, it's intense, and it's sickening, but it's most definitely not the worst thing he could have done. He could have done a million different things to those people, but in the end he just wanted to teach them a lesson so that the husband would stop cheating!

But yes, you explained this flawlessly and I couldn't agree with you more. Throughout the whole movie, I kept trying to figure out why Sy was so obsessed with this one family... and it was because he wanted so badly to just be a part of it. He wanted to be "Uncle Sy." He had never gotten to experience anything normal or happy like a functional family, and he basically grew with them (especially Jake) since they developed so many of their pictures at his place of work. He knows so much about them that it's kind of like he's part of the family already, yet they don't know that. Only he does.

Sheesh, such a mindf-ck... and so terribly sad at the same time. :(

Re: Sy a Victim of Sexual Abuse?

This entire thread is so well-explained.

You fight like a dairy farmer.
How appropriate. Cue my username.

Re: Sy a Victim of Sexual Abuse?

I agree totally with you. Someone here stated up a few comments there were two rolls of film he took. I don't see evidence of this, but maybe it takes a closer look.

He did not want to take actual photos because it was the worst thing he could think of doing.....spot on.

Re: Sy a Victim of Sexual Abuse?


He took photos of Will & Maya! The detective says this at the very beginning of the film.
Detective: "We processed the roll of film we found in the camera. Not very pretty pictures. We also processed the roll of film we found in your hotel room."
Sy: "Can I see them?"
Detective: "Its not a courtesy, Mr. Parrish. Its evidence."

The detective lets Sy see the SECOND roll of film at the end of the movie; this second roll is the ones of the 'little things' that Sy says no one takes pictures of.
So he did.



"I'd say this cloud is Cumulo Nimbus."
"Didn't he discover America?"
"Penfold, shush."

Re: Sy a Victim of Sexual Abuse?

I keep getting the feeling that Sy might of been sexually abused by his father and when he tries to tell his mother what he did she abused him more cause I keep getting this feeling that in his childhood his family created this idea of a perfect family but deep down under the photo you feels as though their is something dark like the father had been sexually abusing him and probably many other children and the mother just denies what is going on like she does not want to imagine the horror that sy's father is doing, which is why sy created this persona of you act normal and you do not tell people what happened. when we meet the yorkins and sy see's that image of the perfect family he connects but when he gets the photo of the husband having the affair that shatters his reality cause it brings him back to what happened to him as a child.

Re: Sy a Victim of Sexual Abuse?

Although vague, it seems like he was abused in some sort of way.

Y'know, I could eat a peach for hours

Re: Sy a Victim of Sexual Abuse?

He was definitely a victim of abuse. He unwittingly admits it to Eriq LaSalle's character near the end.

"I am the ultimate badass, you do not wanna `*beep*` wit me!"- Hudson in Aliens.

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Re: Sy a Victim of Sexual Abuse?

My thought is that Sy bought the picture at the flea market wanting that particular, kind looking woman to be his disgraced mother.
I'm sure that the things he directed Will Yorkin's slut to do in the hotel room were hauntings of his childhood.
I've always considered One Hour Photo to be one of my favorite RW films.
R.I.P. Sad Clown.

Re: Sy a Victim of Sexual Abuse?

Yes, he was a victim of sexual abuse as a child. Sy's main goal in posing Maya and Will for the pornographic pictures was to make them feel shame, humiliation, etc--everything that he felt as a child when he was forced to do the same ("It's all just pretend!"--he's imitating his abuser). It's also a good bet that a secondary goal was to make the adulterous couple never want to have sex with each other again!

Yeah, they're dead; they're--all messed up!

Re: Sy a Victim of Sexual Abuse?

Duh!

















Ashmi any question

Re: Sy a Victim of Sexual Abuse?

it's a difficult thing to discern. i've ignored all the replies and only looked at the topic of your post because many wonder.

in the beginning, he thinks "kiddy porn" is just kind of funny as he describes how it must be reported to the authorities. it makes no sense then, that at the end he seems so antithetical when he goes off in the hotel room.

he's not talking about "kiddy porn"; he's talking about making kids do things they shouldn't and don't want to do.

it's like, if it was kids doing sexual things and enjoying it, it would be ok, but being forced and commanded is something else entirely. he's a control freak and he has "control" issues. when he sees this family, he becomes obsessed with its beauty and he become enraged when he sees that it has a cancer and tries to exert control over it; to the point of obscenity.

Re: Sy a Victim of Sexual Abuse?

I despise movies that get too subtle in their intent; I prefer quality over subliminal. I get irritated when an obvios point is debated, however.

Yes, he was forced to do things and pictures were taken of it, hence the love of pictures (that can freeze a moment of goodness,) detritus (which he feels he, himself, in fact, is,) and his love for the "perfect" family. When his idea of said family is tarnished, he goes nuts as his sole source of peace and harmony and what he wishes his family had been is demolished.

Clear enough explanation?

"I do not like mixing up moralities and mathematics."
Churchill

Re: Sy a Victim of Sexual Abuse?

I hate how they gave Sy a sexual abuse backstory. It kills Sy's mystique. Does there need to be a backstory to explain why Sy is a loner and a psycho with OCD? It's always more creepy when there's no real background.
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