FemaleFirst.co.uk: DVD: Hallam Foe [DVD] [2007]

Hallam Foe [DVD] [2007]
enlarge	Director: David Mackenzie Actors: Jamie Bell, Ciaran Hinds, Jamie Sives, Maurice Roeves, Claire Forlani Studio: Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainm Category: DVD List Price: ~~£15.99~~ Buy Used: £0.99 as of 22/11/2009 04:57 GMT details You Save: £15.00 (94%) New (9) Used (14) from £0.99 Seller: kaberetail Rating: 16 reviews Sales Rank: 22464 Format: PAL Rating: Suitable for 18 years and over Region: 2 Number Of Discs: 1 Running Time: 96 Minutes Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2 Dimensions (in): 7.4 x 5.4 x 0.6 EAN: 8717418144159 ASIN: B000Z9ED40 Theatrical Release Date: 2007 Release Date: February 4, 2008 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days


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Customer Reviews: Showing reviews 1-5 of 16 1 2 3 4 Next » Bell leads strongly in subtle British drama September 23, 2009 Stampy (England) Troubled by his mother's death, Hallam Foe (Bell) runs away to Edinburgh where he finds a woman who looks startling like his mother br / br /The nature of Hallam Foe shows a young lad fighting an onslaught of emotions after the sudden and complicated death of his mother. The suspicious nature of the death plagues Hallam and from the very beginning we have a very real and interesting mystery drama on our hands. br / br /British cinema has reawakened over the past 5 or so years. From the national biased and racist drama This is England to the sexual stereotyping social teens in Kidulthood our countries are not afraid to tackle significant and relative ideologies head on. br / br /Hallam Foe, whilst encoding conceptual meaning of peeping toms, murder and family, doesn't have the scripting to suggest it is a preacher. It feels more established, like a string of events that keeps rolling and rolling until the sharp end is strung. Everything flows very smoothly and the progression of harmless nosey Parker to obsession becomes an infatuation ideology to comprehend. br / br /The reasoning behind Hallam's curiosity is seemingly obvious and then picks up a whole different meaning after a shock night out. This 2007 picture packs a dramatic punch with Hallam's obsessive hobby and whilst the emotional depth may not be as strong as Tom Turgoose's character's bullied political stance, there is no denying the significant relevance of the, what is no now regarded as, perverse nature of the central protagonist. br / br /Jamie Bell delivers a withdrawn stance as Hallam, a clever depiction for a character who wants to conform and say what he feels whilst holding himself in his own regard. The title character is strong to lead, adds the necessary drama whilst never letting up on the controversial stalker ideology whilst never being too in your face to be a preacher. br / br /The scripting never makes you feel like you're being force fed issues and regulations like some British films do, as with East is East for example. Perhaps calling this a romantic love story with drama is too generalized. There is a significant heap of relevance and understanding to digest as Hallam tackles his way through a job with the knowledge of his step mother's nature on his conscious. Mystery, romance and drama are all present in a strongly knit script that packs comedy as well as drama. br / br /As with your typical British film the scene setting and adjustment in context is spot on. The opening scenes of Hallam walking around the country are splendid but the best shot comes when he is climbing the roofs of Edinburgh with his boss. br / br /What I must say is that whilst programmes such as Skins and films such as Brassed off all have relevance to real life is relative, Hallam Foe is perhaps a more established show that does not showcase its issues, and for that reason it is up there with the best British films. Not to mention it has the best soundtrack for any British film. br / br /9/10 Weird but watchable December 7, 2007 Dr. George L. Sik (Epsom, Surrey) 13 out of 14 found this review helpful This is probably Jamie Bell's first leading role since Billy Elliott (he has done some interesting character acting in between in films as huge as King Kong) and his acting is the best thing in it. To say be plays a peculiar little perve doesn't do him justice, but, in the end, it's difficult to relay in any other way what this film's about. br / br /This is one of those films where you simply have no idea where it's heading: it starts off as though it's going to be a dark psychological thriller that is bound to end in tragedy, but somewhere along the line it transmutes into something a bit more quirky and whimsical - it wouldn't be too far off to bracket it as a romantic comedy. br / br /It's the story of a troubled young man who becomes a voyeur, clambering around the roofs of Edinburgh and spying through skylights. If films about strange people are your cup of tea, you'll love it. As a character study, it's intriguing...though at times not completely believable. br / br /Definitely worth having a look at, but tricky to pin down. Hallam Troubled ... January 8, 2008 Penelope (UK) 6 out of 7 found this review helpful As the previous reviews suggest this is a difficult film to categorise as it simply doesn't know what message it is trying to convey. Is it a psychological thriller? Or is it a study of loneliness and bereavement? Or is it a romance? In many ways it is all of the above as the film explores young Hallam, a troubled, bereaved teenager who is struggling to come to terms with his mother's death. Hallam's behaviour alienates himself through spying, and talent for breaking and entering people's homes, and after an altercation with his stepmother whom he suspects of killing his biological mother, he takes off for the bright lights of Edinburgh. It is here that he develops a fixation and infatuation with the young human resources manager who gives him a job in a hotel. As someone who knows Edinburgh very well it was lovely to see the beautiful city utilized to all its cinematic potential. Particularly striking are the scenes where Hallam navigates the roof tops of the city's old town as he spies on the HR manager. Certainly a film about a peeping Tom is an unnerving and uncomfortable premise, and the treatment of the women as objects held under the male gaze makes it difficult to fully sympathise with Hallam. However ultimately as this is a character study you do come to understand the reasons behind Hallam's behaviour however irrational they might be. This is viewing that will challenge and provoke conflicting opinions: some have loved it, others have hated it. To its credit Jamie Bell does an excellent job as a character that in the hands of a less sensitive actor might have been reduced to a perverted creep. Claire Forlani is also particularly good as Hallam's beautiful, icy stepmother. One word of warning: the ease with which Hallam unpicks the locks of his victim's home is extremely unnerving, and may induce sleepless nights ... Lets hope its not so easy to do this in real life! Certainly quirky and inventive February 13, 2008 Julie Cutler (Coventry) 6 out of 7 found this review helpful Hallam Foe(the unusual name of the central character) is a tale of a troubled grieving teenager living out a classic Freudian Oedipal fantasy. Complete with a wicked Stepmother and the girl of his dreams who just happens to resemble his dead mother (the object of his desires obligingly puts on the deceased's dress at one point), we're definitely not in Kansas anymore. Did Mummy top herself or did the wicked stepmother kill her on the path to Daddy's wealth? Hallam is driven out of his rural lost boys world to scrape a living on the roofs of Edinburgh, continuing his obsessions with spying on the world and sneaking into houses (for goodness sake does nobody fit deadlocks or velux blinds?) br / br /I'm not sure how well the book was translated to the screen- as it's set mostly on the rooftops of Edinburgh I would have fitted it into the quirky Scottish genre inhabited by Iain Banks' "The Wasp Factory", or Irving Welsh's "Trainspotting". The online biographies of the author Peter Jinks just place him as living in Sicily with nothing of his formative background. Certainly the adaptation strives to fit the tale into that inventive offbeat Scottish genre. br / br /Unfortunately the abrupt consequence free ending made me reinterpret all the previous flights of fancy as a misogynistic indulgence. Is the idea just to damn the stepmother and the love interest as rampant tarts and the men as their manipulated fools? br / br /However Jamie Bell was convincing in the unusual role. He still likes to demonstrate the athleticism of a grown up Billy Eliot as he leaps up the chimney stacks. And my, Mr Bell, you have been working out- very impressive in the buff! As films go, it was a cut above the current popcorn fodder. Jamie Bell comes of age April 10, 2008 Mitch (UK) 1 out of 1 found this review helpful Jamie's Billy Elliott was triumphant - but where has he been? Well - he's had an unfortunate bit part in 'King Kong' and played a emotionally messed up teenager in the likeable 'Chumscrubber' - but it is here in this off-beat low-budget British film that he has finally exercised the huge potential he displayed as an Actor in Billy Elliott. br /Hallam Foe is a quirky - off-beat story of loss, set in the beautiful Old-Town of Edinburgh. Though Hallam displays an unusual talent for 'breaking and entering' it is his intense fascination with 'watching' which some might find unnerving. br /At the beginning of the film, the viewer will have little clue as to what the film is about or where it is going, but the performances and locations are so entrancing as to hold the attention long enough to peel back the layers of his character and his internal rationalisations. br /At times slightly dark - the film does leave you feeling 'better' and wanting more. Bell's raw vulnerability in character coupled to the occasional flash of a heart-melting smile completely draw you in. His naked ambition to show all of his talent is very much evident and if you can suspend some disbelief and enjoy the more realistic - you will enjoy the film. br /By the way - his Scots accent is impressive as is his mature and very honed physique. br /This Geordie deserves to go very, very far. Well done Jamie - for picking a project that is worthy! Showing reviews 1-5 of 16 1 2 3 4 Next »

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