ALLAN HUNTER at the Movies

SCOTTISH director David Mackenzie has a great affinity for literary adaptations and characters isolated from mainstream society. His previous films including the award-winning ‘Young Adam’ (2003) and the icy cold ‘Asylum’ (2005).

His twin fascinations now combine in a version of the Peter Jinks novel ‘Hallam Foe’, a dark, Oedipal drama in which a teenager struggles to come to terms with the death of his mother and the arrival of a glamorous new stepmother.

An unusual tale, told with skill and confidence, this seems destined for cult status.

Jamie Bell stars as Hallam Foe, a Scots teenager who has withdrawn from the world after the death of his mother. When his sister leaves for Australia he abandons the family home and heads for Edinburgh where he finds work as a kitchen porter in a hotel.

He also becomes obsessed with hotel worker Kate (Sophia Myles), who is the spitting image of his dead mother. He starts by spying on her from the rooftops of Edinburgh and the two eventually embark on a relationship that allows him to confront his demons and seek some sense of salvation.

Beautifully photographed by Giles Nuttgens, ‘Hallam Foe’ boasts a compelling central performance from Jamie Bell that retains our sympathy for Hallam even as his actions and flaws threaten to alienate us.

It also has one of the great indie soundtracks of the year, including music from Franz Ferdinand. The plot begins to unravel a little in the closing stretches and the ending seems a little too neat and tidy, but Hallam Foe is that rare Scottish feature that should have an international impact.

Selected nationwide release

Director: David Mackenzie
Stars: Jamie Bell, Sophia Myles, Ciaran Hinds, Jamie Sives, Claire Forlani, Maurice Roeves, Ewen Bremner
Screenwriters: Ed Whitmore, David Mackenzie based on the novel by Peter Jinks
Certificate: 18
Running time: 95 mins
Country: UK
Year: 2007

© Allan Hunter, 2007