HALLAM FOE

“Hallam Foe” is the coming of age movie for young Jamie Bell - he of “Billy Elliott” fame. His teenage character Hallam is weird, obsessed, confused and angst-ridden, but he gets to have sex with two beautiful women, and acquires a certain poise and polish along the way.
Presented as the opening Gala for this year’s Film Festival, the film scarpers among the rooftops of Edinburgh as it follows young Hallam’s voyeuristic tendencies. For once, the teenage hero has a privileged background, a wealthy kid whose mother has died. He suspects murder. He suspects his wicked beautiful stepmother of the murder. And on the streets of Edinburgh he thinks he sees his dead mother.

From this Freudian premise the tale unfolds. There is a wonderful poised performance from Claire Forlani as Hallam’s

stepmother, a woman who knows how to better a mere boy.

There is a slight suspension of disbelief in the character of Kate (Sophie Myles) his dead mother’s look alike. For in her role as his mentor and his boss, she seems to slip too suddenly and too readily into something more. The boy has charm, right enough, but definitely of the gauche variety.

All in all a pleasing enough film, with quirky and unusual shots of Edinburgh – the gap in the Balmoral’s clock face has never been put to better use. There is also a great soundtrack, featuring artists such as Franz Ferdinand, Orange Juice, Juana Molina, and others from the Domino records stable, that gives us a rich musical counterpoint to young Hallam’s life.

Directed by David Mackenzie, the film goes on general release on August 31^st.