MovieChat Forums > One Hour Photo (2002) Discussion > SPOILERS Sy Taking the Extra Sets of Pho...

SPOILERS Sy Taking the Extra Sets of Photos


Sy's manager had multiple reasons for firing Sy, small ones like the extra long breaks he was taking (which could have been solved with an official warning instead), the medium reason of Sy giving away the disposable cameras (which could have been resolved by ordering him not to any more, even making him pay the company back), you can see I hated seeing Sy get fired, he was so dedicated and loved his job, but the big reason was all the missing prints for all those years when Sy was ordering himself an extra set of the family's photos. My question is how did he he get away with that for so many years? He wrote three copies on the orders when the family only wanted two so he would always have the extra copy for himself and his manager said his cash was always short so he was only charging the family for two copies, shorting the store. He was doing that for so many years but only the one manager many years later caught it? How did previous managers not catch that? Really Sy could have not documented the extra set since he was the one who processed all of that family's photos, he even steps in one time to say that he will do it, and the other tech with less seniority lets him. Then he wouldn't have been caught. My guess is that he was afraid of the chance that he might miss the family's photos even one time so he always marked three instead of two in case he wasn't the one who processed them. Then he could still take the extra set, he was likely always looking for their name. And he just wanted to be the one to do it because he took such pride in doing a good job with the processing. He was a very intelligent but I guess he always took the chance of constantly shorting the store because his obsession was so strong. You would think he would be caught for that sooner though. Maybe he hadn't always been marking the orders incorrectly though. Fascinating movie, loved how realistic it was and that Robin Williams learned the photo processing business. RIP Robin Williams, you are greatly missed.

When you get up in the morning, how do you decide what shade of black to wear? (Shallow Grave)

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I was amazed by Robin's performance in this. He looked so sad when he was fired. I have been fired for reasons that made no sense.
I thought the manager and Sy butted heads, so he was canned!

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Yes the firing scene was so very realistic, as was the whole movie. The manager must have not liked him and was digging for dirt so he found it, that's for sure. I'm so glad I watched this one! He was awesome. :( RIP Robin Williams, you are so missed.

When you get up in the morning, how do you decide what shade of black to wear? (Shallow Grave)

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I can see Sy getting away with it for 11 years. Retail managers tend not to look too closely at many things, they only catch discrepancies.
Sy most likely only entered 2 sets of prints into the computer, so everything would look even....UNLESS someone specifically looked into it!

Bill the manager made a point of checking into everything Sy was doing, probably because he was looking for some dirt on Sy.
The machines would indicate that 3 sets of prints were made, not 2. Hence why Bill asked him where did all the other prints go.

The 90-minute lunch break was just frosting on the cake. Bill didn't really care that Sy did this, otehrwise he would have punished Sy AT THE TIME that he caught him doing it.
It was like police arresting someone for 1st degree assault & finding a marijuana joint in their pocket. Its just something to add to the sentence, by itself they may not care very much.


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

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Oh yes that makes total sense, the manager was digging for something on Sy because he didn't like him or whatever. There are tons of people who know retail inside and out on here so I knew I'd get a response, thanks! Really interesting that a lot of people think the store he worked in was modelled after Wal-mart, it sure reminded me of Wal-mart.

When you get up in the morning, how do you decide what shade of black to wear? (Shallow Grave)

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I think anyone who worked in retail before can identify with Sy in some respects (obviously not the stalking and violence). Retail can be enjoyable depending on your job, pay, etc., but it is a thankless job with few rewards for the rank and file. Robin Williams played the part of a lonely, obsessed, and disturbed retail worker wonderfully. I think in many ways he was this type of person. A wonderful talent and actor...

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That's what I was thinking. This had been going on for +10 years and Bill just now realized it.

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In real life this would not have happened because no production system is ever foolproof, duds are always produced due to faulty machinery, human error, faulty ink cartridges, black lines etc. Over an eleven year period several thousands of photos would be binned for being 'less than perfect' so a technician deliberately producing an extra 700 would not even be noticed.

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Em, next time you might want to throw in a paragraph break or two. It would make your post much easier to read.








Schrodinger's cat walks into a bar and doesn't.

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Sure, no problem.

When you get up in the morning, how do you decide what shade of black to wear? (Shallow Grave)

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Thanks. It seemed interesting and intelligent, but it was just too difficult to read.





Schrodinger's cat walks into a bar and doesn't.

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Thanks, I'll make sure to put paragraph spaces in longer posts now.

When you get up in the morning, how do you decide what shade of black to wear? (Shallow Grave)

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