Seymour "Sy" Parrish

Seymour "Sy" Parrish is the main protagonist/antagonist of the 2002 psychological thriller film One Hour Photo.

He was portrayed by the late Robin Williams, who also played Walter Finch and Rainbow Randolph the same year.

Biography
Although not much is known about his past, it is implied towards the end of the film that he suffered from a sexually abusive childhood from his parents and was forced to do, among other things, child pornography. This would explain him wanting to be a part of the Yorkins, whom he consider s to be the perfect family.

As an adult, likely in his late forties, Sy is a photo technician who works in a mini-lab he calibrated inside a Los Angeles SavMart. He leads a lonely life outside of the department store. His work is life as he has no one to go home to at the end of each day, he spends his life at home sitting alone and watching television. His only companion is a hamster. His favorite customers are the Yorkin family and Seymour has developed an obsession for them, idolizing their happiness and affluence and wanting to associate with them.

He secretly makes copies of the Yorkin family pictures and puts them on the walls of his apartment-fantasizing about being a member of their family and sharing their love he thinks they feel. He is fired for having inexpiable additional prints of the Yorkin family. He looks at the pictures one last time and finds out that Will Yorkin is having an affair, and his notions of their "perfect" family are shattered.

Sy starts taking pictures of his boss' daughter as revenge for firing him, leading to a police investigation against him. While they discover his obsession, Seymour confronts Will and his mistress Maya Burson during a rendezvous in their hotel room. Armed with a knife and a camera, he forces the lovers to pose naked while he takes pictures of them. After the event, the police arrive and he attempts to escape, but triggers an alarm and Van Der Zee chases him while Outerbridge discovers the traumatized couple. After the chase, Seymour is caught and arrested in the parking garage as he attempted to make a break for his car, with Sy saying he just "took pictures".

During the investigation, Van asks why he terrorized the Yorkins. Sy asks the detective questions about his family and he does not answer. He can tell that Van is a good man and not the kind of father that would take "sick, degrading pictures of his children". With Van preparing to take his confession, Sy asks for the pictures he took at the hotel, which Van says they are "evidence". They appear to only be shots of the household and interior furnishings. Sy's fate is unknown. The film's ending is of a picture of him and the Yorkin family. It is unclear if this picture is real or is merely imagined by Sy.

Personality and Psychology
Sy Parrish is an older man who lives a monochromatic, lonely and monotonous life. Despite being a stalker with delusions of the Yorkin family coming to accept him as practically family, Sy is not a bad guy. He is a tragic character whose actions are driven by fear of being alone. Despite being the film's primary antagonist, Sy never hurts anyone. Sy does, however, cross the line by stalking his boss's family after he is fired for stealing photos and by holding Will and Maya hostage at knife point and psychologically terrorizing them. Despite this, everyone came out okay, although shaken by the incident. It is not, however, clear what Sy would have done if he had not been apprehended. Since Sy had the opportunity to hurt people and did nothing, it can be assumed that Sy's intentions, while aggressive and delusional, meant well. Sy's childhood was filled with sexual abuse, as his parents forced him to do child pornography, something he would later call "sick" and "degrading", as well as "something that no child should have to do". This harsh upbringing had a strong impact on Sy's life and contributed to Sy's passion for photo developing. It also sheds light on why he forced Will and Maya to pose for photos. Though it does not excuse what Sy did, it explains why he did the things that he did and makes him a tragic figure, as he only wanted someone to love him. The argument can be made that Sy was denied a childhood and was much like a child in a grown man's body. It is unclear what became of Sy's parents, although it is unlikely that they are still alive. It could even be assumed that as soon as Sy became of age, they severed ties with him as he was no longer of use. They could have also been incarcerated for their crimes. Sy is completely alone as an adult, save for his pet hamster, suggesting no friends or other family. Sy purchased a photo of a woman at a flea market and then told Nina that this was his mother.

Based on Sy's behavior, it is entirely possible that Sy has Borderline Personality Disorder, also called Emotional Dysregulation Disorder. This illness is a mood disorder characterized by unstable moods and relationships, where the person affected desires close relationships with others, but this is made difficult by impulsive actions, paranoid behavior and tendency to go from love to hate in a short period of time for various minor reasons. This disorder was likely caused by his abusive childhood. Because of this void in his life, Sy sought to fill it by attempting to be a part of the Yorkin fmaily, who he viewed as "perfect". However, this is made difficult because he does not know how to communicate properly with other people.

Trivia

 * The_SavMart_Store.jpg fictional store SavMart where Seymour Parrish works at, is a parody of superstores such as Wal-Mart and Save Mart Supermarkets.
 * Sy had been working at SavMart since 1990 during the events of the film, which was released in 1992.
 * Sy is 5'9 and weighs 175 pounds according to his police file.
 * Jack Nicholson, who played Jack Torrance and The Joker was considered to play this role, but lost to Robin Williams. Coincidentally, Robin Williams was considered for both Jack Torrance and the Joker in 1989's Batman, roles that both ended up going to Nicholson instead.
 * Robin William's disturbing and tragic performance as Sy was universally praised as one of the best of his career, which was usually comical. He won a Saturn Award for Best Actor, in addition to being nominated for several other awards.
 * Sy Parrish shares several similarities with Tom Sykes from the film Hider in the House:
 * Both characters are tragic as they long for a family to call their own.
 * Both characters likely have Borderline Personalities, as they crave attachments with others yet are unable to form any meaningful relationships.
 * Both fantasize about a life with a family they are obsessed with. However, Tom attempts to harm the family when he is rejected. Sy never does this.
 * Both attempt to alert the family they adore of the husband's infidelity.
 * Both had abusive childhoods, although Tom killed his abusive family. What became of Sy's abusive family is unclear.
 * Despite both being antagonists, they are tragic characters and the focus of their respective stories.