Hallam Foe/Mister Foe (2007) - Bell charms again in Mackenzie's flawed romantic drama

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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?

Art School Confidential (2006) or, World of Phoney

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+ Best Huge Flop Movie of the Year

Perspiration springs from the young man's face, who is apparently tasked with nude croquis painting on this part-drawn poster for Terry Zwigoff's Art School Confidential

 

Art School Confidential is Wisconsinite master filmmaker Terry Zwigoff's (Louie Bluie (1985, documentary)) second adaptation of a comic book by Daniel Clowes (Wilson (2017)) following the brilliant Ghost World (2001). Clowes adapted his own comic story. It is Zwigoff's second fiction feature.

 
The film is a darkly humorous exposé of the art school world and world of art in general as seen through the eyes of a young, hopeful art school student and prospective artist, alternately strongly convinced and in great doubt as to his own talent.

 
Art School Confidential deserves four small hearts, because it satisfies with many wry laughs, but neglects any major emotions, despite its pretty guilty pleasure lead (Max Minghella (Not Safe for Work (2014))) spending most of the film in a perpetual heartache.
John Malkovich (Penguins of Madagascar (2014)) is in his ace as a failed artist become teacher, and he also co-produced the film. Photographically, there's nothing much to commend in Art School Confidential, which regrettably set back its original, quirky filmmaker's career.

Related posts: 

Terry Zwigoff: 2006 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED III]

2006 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II]

2006 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]

Bad Santa (2003) - Zwigoff sticks dynamite under Christmas in this modern dark comedy classic 

2001 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess 

Ghost World (2001) - Zwigoff's adaptation is a flawless coming-of-age masterpiece 
Crumb (1994, documentary) or, The Artist As a Cartoonist

 

Watch a trailer for the film here

 

Cost: 5 mil. $
Box office: 3.3 mil. $
= Huge flop (returned 0.66 times its cost)

[Art School Confidential premiered 23 January (Sundance Film Festival) and runs 102 minutes. Shooting took place in Los Angeles, California and in New York around July 2004. The film opened #29 to a 135k $ first weekend in 12 theaters in North America, where it peaked at #16 and in 762 theaters and grossed 3.2 mil. $ (96.7 % of the total gross). The film's only other recorded market at Box Office Mojo is the Czech Republic with just under 10k $, the remainder of the total gross. Roger Ebert gave the film a 3/4 star review, in line with this one. Zwigoff looked back upon the film in a 2012 interview, saying that it "was really negatively received both at the box office and critically. Everybody hated that film. I didn't think it was so bad. At least compared to all that other shit out there, anyway. It was certainly just as good as any film in the marketplace. And I'm not saying it's a great film. I'm just saying it's better than most of the dreck." He has since only returned with Budding Prospects (2017, TV short). Minghella returned in Elvis and Anabelle (2007); Malkovich in Klimt (2006); and Sophia Myles (Crossing Lines (2014, TV-series)) in 4 TV credits prior to her theatrical return in Hallam Foe (2007). Art School Confidential is rotten at 36 % with a 5.45/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

 

What do you think of Art School Confidential?