Hallam Foe [DVD]

Hallam Foe(the unusual name of the central character) is a tale of a troubled grieving teenager living out a classic Freudian Oedipal fantasy. Complete with a wicked Stepmother and the girl of his dreams who just happens to resemble his dead mother (the object of his desires obligingly puts on the deceased's dress at one point), we're definitely not in Kansas anymore. Did Mummy top herself or did the wicked stepmother kill her on the path to Daddy's wealth? Hallam is driven out of his rural lost boys world to scrape a living on the roofs of Edinburgh, continuing his obsessions with spying on the world and sneaking into houses (for goodness sake does nobody fit deadlocks or velux blinds?)

I'm not sure how well the book was translated to the screen- as it's set mostly on the rooftops of Edinburgh I would have fitted it into the quirky Scottish genre inhabited by Iain Banks' "The Wasp Factory", or Irving Welsh's "Trainspotting". The online biographies of the author Peter Jinks just place him as living in Sicily with nothing of his formative background. Certainly the adaptation strives to fit the tale into that inventive offbeat Scottish genre.

Unfortunately the abrupt consequence free ending made me reinterpret all the previous flights of fancy as a misogynistic indulgence. Is the idea just to damn the stepmother and the love interest as rampant tarts and the men as their manipulated fools?

However Jamie Bell was convincing in the unusual role. He still likes to demonstrate the athleticism of a grown up Billy Eliot as he leaps up the chimney stacks. And my, Mr Bell, you have been working out- very impressive in the buff! As films go, it was a cut above the current popcorn fodder.

As the previous reviews suggest this is a difficult film to categorise as it simply doesn't know what message it is trying to convey. Is it a psychological thriller? Or is it a study of loneliness and bereavement? Or is it a romance? In many ways it is all of the above as the film explores young Hallam, a troubled, bereaved teenager who is struggling to come to terms with his mother's death. Hallam's behaviour alienates himself through spying, and talent for breaking and entering people's homes, and after an altercation with his stepmother whom he suspects of killing his biological mother, he takes off for the bright lights of Edinburgh. It is here that he develops a fixation and infatuation with the young human resources manager who gives him a job in a hotel. As someone who knows Edinburgh very well it was lovely to see the beautiful city utilized to all its cinematic potential. Particularly striking are the scenes where Hallam navigates the roof tops of the city's old town as he spies on the HR manager. Certainly a film about a peeping Tom is an unnerving and uncomfortable premise, and the treatment of the women as objects held under the male gaze makes it difficult to fully sympathise with Hallam. However ultimately as this is a character study you do come to understand the reasons behind Hallam's behaviour however irrational they might be. This is viewing that will challenge and provoke conflicting opinions: some have loved it, others have hated it. To its credit Jamie Bell does an excellent job as a character that in the hands of a less sensitive actor might have been reduced to a perverted creep. Claire Forlani is also particularly good as Hallam's beautiful, icy stepmother. One word of warning: the ease with which Hallam unpicks the locks of his victim's home is extremely unnerving, and may induce sleepless nights ... Lets hope its not so easy to do this in real life!

Jamie's Billy Elliott was triumphant - but where has he been? Well - he's had an unfortunate bit part in 'King Kong' and played a emotionally messed up teenager in the likeable 'Chumscrubber' - but it is here in this off-beat low-budget British film that he has finally exercised the huge potential he displayed as an Actor in Billy Elliott.
Hallam Foe is a quirky - off-beat story of loss, set in the beautiful Old-Town of Edinburgh. Though Hallam displays an unusual talent for 'breaking and entering' it is his intense fascination with 'watching' which some might find unnerving.
At the beginning of the film, the viewer will have little clue as to what the film is about or where it is going, but the performances and locations are so entrancing as to hold the attention long enough to peel back the layers of his character and his internal rationalisations.
At times slightly dark - the film does leave you feeling 'better' and wanting more. Bell's raw vulnerability in character coupled to the occasional flash of a heart-melting smile completely draw you in. His naked ambition to show all of his talent is very much evident and if you can suspend some disbelief and enjoy the more realistic - you will enjoy the film.
By the way - his Scots accent is impressive as is his mature and very honed physique.
This Geordie deserves to go very, very far. Well done Jamie - for picking a project that is worthy!