Mister Foe (2007)
"Hallam Foe" (original title)

Hallam's talent for spying on people reveals his darkest fears-and his most peculiar desires. Driven to expose the true cause of his mother's death, he instead finds himself searching the rooftops of the city for love.

Director:

David Mackenzie

Writers:

Peter Jinks (novel), David Mackenzie (screenplay),

Stars:

Jamie Bell, Ruth Milne, John Paul Lawler

9 wins & 15 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jamie Bell	...	Hallam
Ruth Milne	...	Jenny (as Ruthie Milne)
John Paul Lawler	...	Carl
Claire Forlani	...	Verity
Lucy Holt	...	Lucy
Ciarán Hinds	...	Julius
Malcolm Shields	...	Kilt Man
John Comerford	...	Grumpy Glaswegian
Gerry Cleary	...	Grumpy Glaswegian
Paul Blair	...	Raincoat Man
Neil McKinven	...	Police Officer
Sophia Myles	...	Kate
Jamie Sives	...	Alasdair
Maurice Roëves	...	Raymond (as Maurice Roeves)
Stuart Hepburn	...	Police Inspector

Storyline

The seventeen year-old Hallam Foe is a weird teenager that misses his mother, who committed suicide by drowning in a lake near their house in Edinburgh after an overdose of sleeping pills. Hallam spends his spare time peeping at the locals and blames his stepmother Verity Foe, accusing her of killing his mother. After a discussion with his father Julius Foe, Hallam sneaks out from his house and travels to Edinburgh, where he sees Kate Breck and becomes obsessed with her because of her resemblance to 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 in the hardest way.

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Plot Keywords:

hotel | love | desire | kitchen | lake | 

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Taglines:

Some people see life differently

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Genres:

Drama | Mystery | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong sexual content and language

Details

Official Sites:

Offical blog Official US site

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

31 August 2007 (UK)

Also Known As:

Mister Foe

Filming Locations:

Balmoral Hotel, Edinburgh, Scotland, UK

Box Office

Budget:

£3,800,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$13,490 (USA) (5 September 2008)

Gross:

$59,255 (USA) (17 October 2008)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Film4, Ingenious Film Partners, Scottish Screen

Technical Specs

Runtime:

95 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Although much of Hallam Foe is filmed in central Edinburgh, the film avoids showing Edinburgh Castle, which is visible from many of the real life locations.

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Goofs

Hallam works in the Balmoral Hotel at the East end of Princes Street, yet all shots of the staff entrance to the hotel are clearly the Caledonian Hotel at the West end of the Street.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Jenny: [to Hallam] You're dead. You're fucking dead! I'll get my brother on to you.
Carl: [to Jenny] Jen, come back, wait!
Carl: [to Hallam] If that was a joke, it wasn't a bit fucking funny. And I'd look out for her brother, he's fucking mental.

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Soundtracks

"Royally Used"
Written by Sons and Daughters (as Sons & Daughters)
Performed by Sons and Daughters (as Sons & Daughters)
Published by Bug Music
Courtesy of Domino Recording Co. Ltd

User Reviews

Character Study of Caricatures

Mister Foe is another "indie coming of age dramedy" with a hip indie soundtrack about a charismatic teen with psychological problems. Hallam is a film about a boy who misses his dead mother and ends up striking up a relationship with a women who looks like her. Normally films handle the Oedipus complex a little tactfully but Mister Foe goes right for it and pulls no punches. Even after they set it up they go to the well once too often. Each character has a broadly drawn idea of their personality but we never get a sense of who they are. The fact that both of them have such emotional baggage is what is supposed to make it interesting, but they have that baggage because the film says they do. The baggage exists to create the characters and not that characters exist because of the baggage. At the end the character development seems to serve the plot more the the characters themselves. The best parts of this film is the voyeurism angle and even that seems to get lost in the shuffle and even downplayed to other aspects like a weak and unnecessary family drama in addition to a murder mystery that it seems even David Mackenzie tries to downplay and holds off as long as he can. Jamie Bell does give a great performance as Hallam playing a somber yet energetic teenager even if he doesn't have much to work with. David Mackenzie also does a great job of framing the film with some beautiful backdrops and backgrounds. It seems his weakest aspect is filming characters as his character moments are flat and uninteresting with the backgrounds being what gives it flare. Mister Foe is a character study of caricatures. It is fun and odd but at the same time shallow.