Hallam Foe
Reviews
MoHA
After momentarily veering off course with a misguide adaptation of Patrick McGrath's eerie neo-gothic novel Asylum, Scottish director David Mackenzie is back on track, making good on the promise he initially showed with such dark, acclaimed features as THE LAST GREAT WILDERNESS and the award-winning YOUNG ADAM. Expert at lock picking and proficient at peering into other people's windows, 17-year-old Hallam Foe (Jamie Bell) is a young Scot who can't get past the drowning death of his suicidal mother in the loch on the sprawling family estate. Dad (Ciaran Hinds) has since married his former secretary, Verity (Claire Forlani), whom Hallam hates and he takes no pains to hide his feelings. After his sister, Lucy (Lucy Holt), relocates to Australia, Hallam holes himself up in his tree house where he spends hours under a blow-up portrait of his late mother, contemplating whether or not Verity might have actually been responsible for his mother's death. When Verity confronts him with the private notes books in which he records not only his voyeuristic escapades around the village but his own self-digusted lust for Verity herself, Hallam explodes. Hallam accuses her of murdering his mother, then attempts to strangle her. They then have sex on the tree-house floor. Figuring now is as good a time as any to finally leave home, Hallam runs off to Edinburgh where he spots Kate (Sophia Myles), a young woman who bears a striking resemblance to his mother. Bewitched, he follows her to the landmark Balmoral Hotel where she works, then begs his way into a job as a kitchen porter just to be near to her. When he follows her home after work, he realizes he can see into her bedroom window from the Balmoral's famous clock tower. There he sets up post, watching Kate during her most private moments as he falls in love.. Based on the cult novel Hallam Foe by Peter Jinks, Mackenzie's film walks a very fine line between charming and downright creepy: There's no getting around the fact that Hallam has a few serious problems, compulsive voyeurism being the most troubling. But rather than underplay what makes this unusual character so compelling, Mackenzie leaves Hallam Foe has he found him, and Giles Nuttgens (ASYLUM, YOUNG ADAM and Deepa Mehta's gorgeous WATER) films it all in high style. Bell is excellent, the settings are spectacular and the right Scottish soundtrack features songs by Franz Ferdinand, Orange Juice and The Pastels.
CinemaSerf
The eponymous young lad (Jamie Bell) has a bit of a prurient streak - he loves watching people making out in the woods from his treehouse before applying his own, unique, form of contraception! His life at home is a troubled one after his mother committed suicide and "Hallam" certain that his new stepmother (Claire Forlani) was behind the crime. Unable to convince his father (Ciaràn Hinds) he flees to Edinburgh were he falls completely for hotel manager "Kate" (Sophia Myles). He pleads with her to give him a kitchen job and pretty swiftly, thanks to an eerie like vantage point atop the hotel, he is up to his old tricks again. Quickly, he discovers that she is having an affair with a married man (Jamie Sives). It's that man who cottons on to his peccadillo and swiftly "Jenny" becomes aware too. What's next for the disturbed young man? There's something very honest about Bell's performance here. He treads a tightrope between horny young man and one caught up in a traumatic mystery that might be true, or it might all be a figment of his very over-active imagination. The characterisation of the well-meaning "Kate" also works well too as does that of his curmudgeonly kitchen co-worker "Raymond" (Maurice Roëves). The story is a little far-fetched, but it has something of the getting into the mind not a child to it, and I found Bell an engaging actor to watch.
Movie Recommendation
Things to Come2016-04-06Nathalie teaches philosophy at a high school in Paris. She is passionate about her job and particularly enjoys passing on the pleasure of thinking. Married with two children, she divides her time between her family, former students and her very possessive mother. One day, Nathalie’s husband announces he is leaving her for another woman. With freedom thrust upon her, Nathalie must reinvent her life.More...
Samaritan Girl2004-03-05Jae-Young is an amateur prostitute who sleeps with men while her best friend Yeo-Jin "manages" her, fixing dates, taking care of the money, and making sure the coast is clear. When Jae-Young falls in love with one of those men, she suppresses her feelings towards him in respect of her friend who's jealous.More...
Black Island2021-08-17The dark secrets of a seemingly peaceful island threaten to swallow up an orphaned student when he grows close to a mysterious new teacher.More...
You Instead2011-09-16Two feuding rock stars get handcuffed together for 24 hours at a music festival where they are both due to perform.More...
Malik2021-07-15A past ridden with crime, death and pain is recounted to Freddy, a juvenile criminal, who has been assigned to eliminate his estranged uncle Sulaiman, an aging patriarch, while behind bars.More...
As Long as Shotguns Remain2014-04-10Two young men in a nearly abandoned suburban landscape deal with the suicide of one of their friends by shotgunning beers and joining a gang.More...
The Hot Potato2011-01-01The 'Hot Potato' is an exciting new British period ‘caper movie’, in the spirit of ‘The Italian Job’ and ‘Two Way Stretch’ and is based on real events which took place at the end of the 1960s in London’s East End.More...
Honeydripper2007-09-10In 1950s Alabama, the owner of the Honeydripper juke joint finds his business dropping off and against his better judgment, hires a young electric guitarist in a last ditch effort to draw crowds during harvest time.More...
U Turn1997-10-03When a desperate man’s car breaks down in a bizarre desert town while evading vengeful bookies, he becomes entangled in a dangerous love triangle. Caught between a married couple, he’s faced with deadly contracts to kill them both.More...
Fidelity2019-10-31Lena is a talented midwife and gynaecologist, her husband Serezha is an actor at a provincial drama theatre. They are close and gentle with each other, but there is no sex. Lena suspects that Serezha has an affair, but she worries quietly and does not reveal her jealousy. Instead of sorting out her relationship with her husband, Lena starts to betray him with chance acquaintances. Gradually Lena’s parallel life gets out of control and changes her original life.More...
Manhunter1986-08-14FBI Agent Will Graham, who retired after catching Hannibal Lecktor, returns to duty to engage in a risky cat-and-mouse game with Lecktor to capture a new killer.More...
The Kite Runner2007-12-14After spending years in California, Amir returns to his homeland in Afghanistan to help his old friend Hassan, whose son is in trouble.More...
Hackers1995-09-14Along with his new friends, a teenager who was arrested by the US Secret Service and banned from using a computer for writing a computer virus discovers a plot by a nefarious hacker, but they must use their computer skills to find the evidence while being pursued by the Secret Service and the evil computer genius behind the virus.More...
Big Stan2007-11-03A weak con man panics when he learns he's going to prison for fraud. He hires a mysterious martial arts guru who helps transform him into a martial arts expert who can fight off inmates who want to hurt or love him.More...
Under the Skin2014-03-14A seductive stranger prowls the streets of Glasgow in search of prey: unsuspecting men who fall under her spell.More...
Blue Velvet1986-09-19The discovery of a severed human ear found in a field leads a young man on an investigation related to a beautiful, mysterious nightclub singer and a group of psychopathic criminals who have kidnapped her child.More...
Perfume: The Story of a Murderer2006-09-13Jean-Baptiste Grenouille, born in the stench of 18th century Paris, develops a superior olfactory sense, which he uses to create the world's finest perfumes. However, his work takes a dark turn as he tries to preserve scents in the search for the ultimate perfume.More...
Die Hard 21990-07-03One year after his heroics in Los Angeles, John McClane is an off-duty cop who is the wrong guy in the wrong place at the wrong time. On a snowy Christmas Eve, as he waits for his wife's plane to land at Washington Dulles International Airport, terrorists take over the air traffic control system in a plot to free a South American army general and drug smuggler being flown into the US to face drug charges. It's now up to McClane to take on the terrorists, while coping with an inept airport police chief, an uncooperative anti-terrorist squad, and the life of his wife and everyone else trapped in planes circling overhead.More...
Monsters University2013-06-19A look at the relationship between Mike and Sulley during their days at Monsters University — when they weren't necessarily the best of friends.More...
Titanic1997-11-18101-year-old Rose DeWitt Bukater tells the story of her life aboard the Titanic, 84 years later. A young Rose boards the ship with her mother and fiancé. Meanwhile, Jack Dawson and Fabrizio De Rossi win third-class tickets aboard the ship. Rose tells the whole story from Titanic's departure through to its death—on its first and last voyage—on April 15, 1912.More...
Similar Movies
Twenty Years
2017-02-23A police officer encounters a stranger waiting for an old friend.The Voyeurs
2021-08-25When Pippa and Thomas move into their dream apartment, they notice that their windows look directly into the apartment opposite – inviting them to witness the volatile relationship of the attractive couple across the street. But what starts as a simple curiosity turns into full-blown obsession with increasingly dangerous consequences.Alone
2004-10-28Maria is a student at the university of Essen, Germany, living and working in a gray, unpleasant, and anonymous environment. While she has little problem finding someone for a one night stand, she rebuffs her lovers in such a rude way that they actually don't know what's going on. But what seems to be a negative attitude at first glance is in fact much worse: Maria is suffering from borderline syndrome, a serious psychotic disease that makes her fail to develop a continuous, reliable personality, from her own perspective as well as from the perspective of those she meets. Then one day, she bumps into Jan, a student who falls in love with her without delay. He's awaiting a hard time when he has to learn how hard it is to stay loyal and faithful to a person who, in her own words, "has a different world inside of her head" and who feels that "there is something inside of me that eats me up."My Best Friend's Wedd...
1997-06-19When she receives word that her longtime platonic pal Michael O'Neal is getting married to debutante Kimberly Wallace, food critic Julianne Potter realizes her true feelings for Michael -- and sets out to sabotage the wedding.Flame & Citron
2008-03-25Gunman Flame and his partner Citron assassinate Nazi collaborators for the Danish resistance. Assigned targets by their Allies-connected leader, Aksel Winther, they relish the opportunity to begin targeting the Nazis themselves. When they begin to doubt the validity of their assignments, their morally complicated task becomes even more labyrinthine.Cloud 9
2008-05-17A romantic drama about a woman who enters into an affair after 30 years of marriage.The Stepmother 2
2022-12-23Elizabeth, a woman with dissociative identity disorder, cheats death and has now a new mission, to find a new family and live happily ever after, beyond her troubled past.Nichts geht mehr
2007-10-25Comedy movie that deals with typical behavior of young teens.Bringing Out the Dead...
1999-10-22Once called "Father Frank" for his efforts to rescue lives, Frank Pierce sees the ghosts of those he failed to save around every turn. He has tried everything he can to get fired, calling in sick, delaying taking calls where he might have to face one more victim he couldn't help, yet cannot quit the job on his own.The Isle
2000-04-22Mute Hee-Jin is working as a clerk in a fishing resort in the Korean wilderness; selling baits, food and occasionally her body to the fishing tourists. One day she falls in love with Hyun-Shik, who is on the run from the police, and rescues him with a fish hook when he tries to commit suicide.Charlie Bartlett
2008-02-22Awkward teenager Charlie Bartlett has trouble fitting in at a new high school. Charlie needs some friends fast, and decides that the best way to find them is to appoint himself the resident psychiatrist. He becomes one of the most popular guys in school by doling out advice and, occasionally, medication, to the student body.Orgazmo
1998-07-02A devout Mormon living in L.A. becomes a pornographic actor after his martial arts moves impress a big-time director.Reservation Road
2007-09-13Two fathers' lives intersect when one of them is involved in a terrible and sudden hit-and-run car accident that leaves the other's son dead. In response, the two men react in unexpected ways as a reckoning looms in the near future.Assault on Precinct 1...
2005-01-19On New Year's Eve, inside a police station that's about to be closed for good, officer Jake Roenick must cobble together a force made up cops and criminals to save themselves from a mob looking to kill mobster Marion Bishop.Hellraiser
1987-09-11A hedonistic man finds a mysterious puzzle box that summons a group of gruesome beings known as the Cenobites. These otherworldly entities open the doors to a dominion where pain and pleasure are indivisible.All the Boys Love Man...
2006-09-09Beautiful Mandy Lane isn't a party girl but, when classmate Chloe invites the Texas high school student to a bash in the countryside, she reluctantly accepts. After hitching a ride with a vaguely scary older man, the teens arrive at their destination. Partying ensues, and Mandy's close pal, Emmet, keeps a watchful eye on the young males making a play for Mandy. Then two of the students are murdered.Dog Days
2001-09-03Vignettes of the lives of several residents of a Vienna suburb during a heat wave.The Importance of Bei...
2002-05-17Two young gentlemen living in 1890s England use the same pseudonym ('Ernest') on the sly, which is fine until they both fall in love with women using that name, which leads to a comedy of mistaken identities.The Guru
2002-08-21Bored with Bollywood movies but fascinated with their Hollywood counterparts from his youth, Ram dreams to become a singer and actor in America, the country where dreams are made. He is encouraged when his American-based close friend, Vijay Rao, comes for visit, and brags about driving a Mercedes and living in a penthouse.The Great Silence
1968-11-22A mute gunslinger fights in the defense of a group of outlaws and a vengeful young widow, against a group of ruthless bounty hunters.