My Name Is Hallam Foe

Since Hallam's (Jamie Bell) mother died two years ago, he has detached himself from life, watching (even spying) the people from a distance, going as far as breaking in and searching their closets. He despises his stepmother (a surprisingly matured Claire Forlani) who he suspects of having murdered his mom. So Hallam takes off from the Scottish countryside to Glasgow, where he prowls the roofs, and finds a girl eerily resembling his mother. Revealing more of the story wouldn't do it justice. Jamie Bell masterfully plays an angry young man, reminiscing of Holden Caulfield. The film creates magical sequences, sports a wry northern humour, and doesn't shy away from exploring the feeling of loss and pain. Although the plot background relies too much on textbook psychology, HALLAM FOE remains a kindhearted, lively drama beyond the streamline tearjerkers. 7/10

Excellent performances, including a beautiful one by the city of Edinburgh, are what make this erratic movie worth seeing. Jamie Bell is very endearing, and demonstrates a wide emotional range (compare and contrast dull American actors like Ryan Phillippe and Matt Damon). He's well supported by, amongst others, Sophia Myles, Jamie Sives, that wonderful old stager Maurice Roeves and, in an splendid cameo, Ewan Bremner.

The story loses itself in unconvincing melodrama towards the end, which is a pity. Up till then it's an eccentric, entertainingly wayward affair, with a sparky script, good photography and lively editing.

This is one of the overlooked gems of indie cinema that make you happy to find it.

Our friend Hallam Foe is a Scottish youth, upset over the suicide of his mother and the ascendancy of his stepmother. After various confrontations in his home town, mostly brought on by spying on the locals, he flees to London and begins a stalker type of romance with a hotel worker who looks like his deceased mother.

The charm of this movie is in the witty dialog, Hallam's unexpected cleverness, and his determination to confront his own issues. Even though his actions would be somewhat creepy in an older or less charming person, you can sympathize with him and hope that he somehow manages to cope with life in the big city. The film starts out kind of slow and confused but gets together about 30 minutes in and becomes clear. The ending is especially good, being just about what you would expect to happen in real life.

There is a real overtone of romance in this movie, making it a good date film, and a couple of clever sex scenes that are graphic without being explicit: there isn't much skin on display, but what's going on is obviously no-holds-barred humping.

Guys will like this film for Hallam's cleverness and determination, girls will like it for the offbeat romance, and everyone will groove to it for the quirkiness. See it, you'll be happy you did.

Jamie bell has certainly come a long way from that little dancing boy 'Billy Elliot', although he never seems to get any older, and here he takes another challenging role as Hallam Foe. Hallam is introduced to us as he skylines onto a couple having sex near his tree house, not only is he semi-clad and wearing make-up he is sporting a rather bizarre piece of headgear made out of a badger. It is at this point we the audience can assume that Hallam is not only a bit mad but a bit creepy, which apparently stems from his mothers suicide. From here on in the story sees him leave behind his tree house sanctuary, not by choice, and fly the nest to Edinburgh, he is homeless, jobless and believes his step mother killed his real mother. Armed with his trusty binoculars he scrambles around the roof tops spying on the residents of the city and we learn that he distanced himself from people when he lost his mother and it just turned into a kind of habit, a modern day peeping tom. As opposed to the obsession he had with everyone before he left home, he becomes focused on Kate, a human resources officer for a large hotel, mainly due to the fact that she reminds him of his mother. After conning his way into a job at the hotel he embarks on a relationship with Kate but his spiralling madness, dark secret and Kate's regular sex partner threaten everything and push Hallam further down the spiral. Directed by David Mackenzie it really does have a sense of love for the city and its people, but its Bell and Sophia Myles (Kate), whose strange relationship forms the centre of the film, that carry the plot along. With music from the likes of Orange Juice to Sons and Daughters and an exclusive Franz Ferdinand track the pace is upbeat and the David Shrigley Cartoon titles should be an inclination to the type of quirky film this is. Bold, funny and a little disturbing Hallam Foe is an enjoyable romp through the weird and wonderful world of the human mind and emotions and how certain things can affect our everything.

Definitely. I even dreamt about him. Jamie Bell's performance as a juvenile peeping tom is one that stays with you, following your subconscious around without permission. Eliciting sympathy one moment and astonishment the next, this teenager reeling from the death of his mother leaves viewers similarly out of kilter. A dramatic thriller funnier than a lot of what passes for comedy, David McKenzie's new feature is beautifully shot in Scotland without wasting a second, the camera lingering like Hallam's binoculars one moment before leaping to the next vantage point. The plot often feels erratic as Hallam rushes around Edinburgh in a haze of paranoia and confusion, but I felt this added to my sympathy for the young crazy, and only a couple of conveniently unfortunate incidents to ratchet up the tempo jarred slightly. A strong soundtrack from Scottish indie heroes Orange Juice and a host of their darker-tinged descendants helped everything along nicely. A strong cast made for compelling viewing, particularly Sophia Myles as the object of Hallam's roving lenses, though for me it was Jamie Bell's impressive turn that made it real. He even overshadowed Spud.