Film Reviews

Hallam Foe

• Rating:
• Director: David Mackenzie
• Starring: Ciaran Hinds
• Details: UK / 95mins (18).

A loner, young Hallam Foe (Bell) keeps to himself, spying on lovers who wander near his bird-spotting hut on the expansive grounds owned by his father (Hinds). Hallam's mother died recently in an accident and he blames her death on his stepmother Verity (Forlani), his father's ex-secretary. Fed up with the cold comfort at home, Hallam leaves for Edinburgh and wangles a job as a hotel porter where he meets manager Kate (Myles), who bears an uncanny resemblance to his mother. Hallam begins to stalk her and the last thing he expects is that she falls for him too. Hallam Foe is all about character - what we see him doing and what we imagine he'd be prepared to do if pushed. On one hand he's just a lonely boy in a city that could swallow him up. He misses his mother and is just looking for someone to accept him. On the other, he's an unhinged psycho and we can only assume he'd take his obsession as far it could go. Foe isn't the most likeable character in the world but Jamie Bell, getting better and better all the time, gets you onside immediately in a flawless performance and proves he can carry a film on his own shoulders even at the tender age of 21. His Foe is a rash of contradictions - tender, terrifying, sweet, creepy - and Bell delivers each when needed. The film, adapted from Peter Jinks' novel and directed by Young Adam's David Mackenzie, needed a stronger ending, however, and fizzles out rather than delivering a just climax worthy of the build up.

Review by Gavin Burke