Hallam Foe (2007)

User Rating:

7.2/10   

Director:

David Mackenzie

Writers:

Peter Jinks (novel)
David Mackenzie (screenplay)

Release Date:

30 August 2007 (Germany)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Tagline:

Who is Hallam Foe?

Plot:

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.

Plot Keywords:

Rooftop | Hotel | Porter | Cell Phone | Voyeurism

Awards:

8 wins & 11 nominations

Cast

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

Also Known As:

Mister Foe (USA) (new title)

MPAA:

Rated R for strong sexual content and language.

Runtime:

95 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

UK:18 | Ireland:18 | Netherlands:12 | Germany:12 (re-rating on appeal) | Germany:16 (original rating) | Finland:K-15 | Australia:MA (2007) | Sweden:11 | South Korea:18 | Singapore:R21 | Hungary:16 | USA:R | Argentina:16

Filming Locations:

Balmoral Hotel, Edinburgh, Scotland, UK

Company:

Film4

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.

Goofs:

Errors in geography: 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.

Soundtrack:

Boa vs Python

Overlooked and Under-appreciated

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.