My Name Is Hallam Foe

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.

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.

The seventeen year-old Hallam Foe (Jamie Bell) is a weird teenager that misses his mother that committed suicide, drowning in a lake nearby their house in Edinburgh after an overdose of sleeping pills. Hallam spends his spare time peeping the locals and blames his stepmother Verity Foe (Claire Forlani), accusing her of killing his mother. After a discussion with his father Julius Foe (Ciarán Hinds), Hallam sneaks out from his house and travels to London, where he sees Kate Breck (Sophia Myles) and becomes obsessed for her because of her resemblance with his mother. Kate hires Hallam to work in the kitchen of the hotel where she works and they have a strange romance, while Hallam reaches his maturity through the hardest way.

"Hallam Foe" is a surprisingly great and stylish little movie with an original and erotic romance with Oedipus complex, obsession and voyeurism. The enjoyable story is funny, sexy and dramatic and the characters are well developed with great performances and chemistry of Jamie Bell and Sophia Myles. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): Not Available

Years on from his success in Billy Elliott, it's great to see Jamie Bell being given a vehicle to show that he has the genuine talent to carry a film. Hallam Foe is a fine British production; quirky, disturbing, funny, interesting, thought-provoking and consistently well-shot and soundtracked. At the same time, it's a little gimmicky, heavily-influenced (Trainspotting, Rear Window et al), and frankly far-fetched in its depiction of the unlikely love between Hallam and the object of his affection in Edinburgh (Sophie Myles). But where the disbelief needs suspending,Jamie Bell's performance saves the day, on the emotional side through bringing tremendous depth to his character, and on the physical side by making his rooftop athleticism completely believable. For all its faults, this is a admirable and brave piece of work, well worth-watching if you're after something dark and provocative that will also make you laugh (the badger suit?).