Delayed Review: Hallam Foe

Pictured: Jamie Bell and Sophia Myles

In the summer of 2007 I somehow came across this movie through imdb most likely, and after watching the trailer and reading up on it I became absolutely desperate to see it. I’m not even entirely sure why, perhaps it was the killer soundtrack or the fact that it was set in Edinburgh, where I was taking a vacation later that summer, or I have some deep psychological issue that makes me attracted to films about voyeurs. I never did get to see it in theaters as it never made a wide enough release in the US, and I arrived in Edinburgh the day AFTER its premiere at the Edinburgh Film Festival. However thanks to Netflix, I have finally been able to fulfill this small but lingering goal.

The film centers around 17-year-old Hallam Foe (Jamie Bell) who continues to struggle over the recent death of his mother, whom he adored. Hallam is convinced that she was murdered by his new step-mother Verity (Claire Forlani) but his father (Ciaran Hinds) is blinded by the power his new wife holds over him. After a strange sexual encounter with Verity, Hallam retreats to Edinburgh where he meets and spies on Kate Breck (Sophia Myles) a dead ringer for his late mother, with whom he begins a very bizarre, however oddly endearing, relationship.

Watching it I was reminded very much of the stories of Ian McEwan, in many of which is a character that is deeply disturbed yet very sympathetic and touching. There were several moments of emotion where I stepped back and realized, wow, I can’t believe I feel this strongly for a kid with this bad of an Oedipal complex not to mention the woman who seems perfectly content feeding this fantasy.

Bell and Myles are tender and complicated, and in one scene somehow manage to make a rather lewd build-up to lovemaking seem like the most adorable thing in the world (they exchange various slang words for their own private parts). The soundtrack is perfection (at least for alternative rock fans, particularly Scottish alternative rock fans) and the story as a whole is genuinely feel-good, even though at times you force yourself to question what makes it so enjoyable.