| Hallam Foe |
| Words: Andrew Davies-Cole | |
| Thursday, 16 August 2007 | |
Edinburgh International Film Festival David Mackenzie’s Hallam Foe is a coming of age drama, but pay little heed to those who will doubtless claim it’s also the film in which leading man Jamie Bell comes of age. As an actor, he clearly passed through this rite a few films ago, and his assured rendering of grief-stricken voyeur Foe is testament to the fact. The film adapts Peter Jinks’ novel about a boy troubled by the mysterious death of his mother, and his father’s decision to bring a new woman into their lives. Only seventeen, Foe retreats into himself, opting to watch the world both from a distance and in detail, aided by his binoculars. It’s a fitting opening gala film for the Edinburgh International Festival in that much of the action is set in the capital itself. The cinematography does well to capture the city in its various humours, making it a special treat if Edinburgh’s familiar to you. Some scenes are deliberately difficult to watch along with Bell in his role as peeping tom. It quickly becomes plain that his ‘habit’ is as much a curse as a compulsion. Although it’s a complex film, Bell himself has been quick to point out that it doesn’t always ‘take itself too seriously’, and some great comic touches come from supporting turns by veteran Maurice Roëves (as a cantankerous kitchen porter), and Ewen Bremner (as Andy, another of Foe’s workmates). The lead character’s stepmother Verity (Claire Forlani), and love interest Kate (Sophia Myles), occupy polar positions in the protagonists world. Both characters are made fascinating through the skills of the actors that play them. The soundtrack, graced by the likes of Orange Juice, King Creosote and Franz Ferdinand, is a delight for those that like their music edgy, lyrical and homegrown. If this also happens to be how you like your films, this one certainly won’t disappoint. Two word verdict: spying high |