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| A cutesy, ghastly-yellow poster for David Mackenzie's Hallam Foe that doesn't convey too much about the actual film |
Young Hallam is an aimless young man, who turns his rage from his mother's suicide against his father and stepmother and flees to the big city, where he falls in love with a young woman, who looks like his mother.
Hallam Foe is written by Ed Whitmore (Waking the Dead (2002-11)) and co-writer/director David Mackenzie (Starred Up (2013)), based on the same-titled 2001 novel by Peter Jinks. There is something off about the rhythm of the whole film, but Jamie Bell (Snowpiercer (2013)) as the title character is the reason to see it in himself.
Hallam's spying on the other characters, SPOILER and especially his final attack on his stepmother, are so indefensible acts that I was fairly distanced from the grieving protagonist here during the film. Ciarán Hinds (McCanick (2013)) doesn't seem like Bell's father here and may just be miscast, whereas Claire Forlani (Ripley Under Ground (2005)) is fine as the stepmother.
Hallam Foe is mostly for Bell fans, and it seems to have been one of those films that are cheerfully overrated locally (in this case in the UK.)
Watch a trailer for the film here
Cost: 3.8 mil. £, or approximately 5 mil. $
Box office: 2.1 mil. $
= Mega-flop (0.42 times the cost)
[Hallam Foe premiered 16 February (Berlin International Film Festival) and runs 95 minutes. Shooting took place in Scotland from March - May 2006. It opened and peaked at #14 in the UK, its home and biggest market, where it grossed 808k $ (38.5 % of the total gross). The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were Germany with 569k $ (27.1 %) and France with 451k $ (21.5 %). The film opened and peaked at #75 in North America in 2 theaters, though it spread to 6 venues, grossing 60k $ (2.9 %) under the title Mister Foe. The film won 1/4 BAFTA Scotland nominations, 2 awards at the Berlin International Film Festival, 6 British Independent Film Award nominations and won a National Board of Review award. Mackenzie returned with Ashton Kutcher-starring Spread (2009). Bell returned in Jumper (2008). Hallam Foe is certified fresh at 72 % with a 6.5/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]
What do you think of Hallam Foe?
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