Hallam Foe

R

Released Sep 5, 2008

1 hr. 35 min.

Drama

Romance

List

73%

64 Reviews

Tomatometer

72%

10,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

British teenager Hallam Foe (Jamie Bell) still mourns his mother's suicide and refuses to open up to his stepmother, Verity (Claire Forlani). After Verity seduces and blackmails him, Hallam runs away to Edinburgh and meets Kate (Sophia Myles), a manager in a hotel who gives him a job. Kate reminds Hallam of his mother, and he begins spying on her from a clock tower overlooking her apartment. Gradually, Hallam and Kate form a complicated relationship as he tries to cope with his mother's death.

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Critics Consensus

Carefully balanced between the dark and the dreamy, Mister Foe is a charged coming-of-age story with whimsy and bite.

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Audience Member

'Hallam Foe' solely depends on the performance of Jamie Bell as the title character and boy does he deliver. As an audience, you are watching a teen growing up in the shadow of his mother's death which causes him to withdraw within himself and create somewhat disturbing fantasies. Hallam Foe even finds his stepmother (Claire Forlani) attractive but changes his mind after he accuses her of killing his mother. Foe is forced to go to Edinburgh in order to make a life for himself. As he pounces from rooftop to rooftop, he notices a woman named Kate (Sophia Mules) who is the spitting image of his late mother. Foe does everything he can to get closer to Kate and in doing so discovers a lot about himself and the truth of his fantasies. As was mentioned, Jamie Bell is terrific. You cannot sympathize for him at the beginning then he gives you moments of less creepy vulnerability that makes you feel sorry for him. I do like the tone and styling this movie takes but the drama sometimes takes a "that escalated quickly" turn. This does not help the film turn into a very good or excellent film but because of Bell's performance, beautifully shot Edinburgh, the nervous sexual tension between Hallam and Kate (played well by Myles), and a nice soundtrack among other things, 'Hallam Foe' manages to still entrance despite its oversteps.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

01/17/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Quirky film about a weirdo voyeur and his complex love for his mother.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/14/23

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Audience Member

Interesting, comic, uplifting and brilliant.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/24/23

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Audience Member

Hallem is one creepy guy.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/13/23

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Audience Member

Mister Foe is uneven and slow but if you can stomach the indie-ness of it, it's a worthwhile coming-of-age tale. Jamie Bell proves to be a growing actor in this Oedipal shoegazer. Nothing remarkable here; just a solid little Scottish film with some heart.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/19/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Sensitively crafted film about coming to terms with a tragedy while growing up...

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

01/26/23

Full Review

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David Mackenzie

Director

Jamie Bell

Hallam Foe

Sophia Myles

Kate Breck

Ciarán Hinds

Julius Foe

Jamie Sives

Alasdair

Maurice Roëves

Raymond

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James Hannaham

Salon.com

Jamie Bell, who plays the title character in the new film Mister Foe, is the next Christian Bale. At least.

Jul 17, 2019

Full Review

David Fear

Time Out

Rated: 4/5

Nov 17, 2011

Full Review

Michael Phillips

Chicago Tribune

[A] prettily photographed but relationally science-fictional coming-of-age blather.

Rated: 2/4

Oct 18, 2008

Full Review

Mattie Lucas

From the Front Row

Has a strange kind of charm, a warm, open disposition that even in its darkest moments, we always pull for Hallam.

Rated: 3/4

Jul 7, 2019

Full Review

Kelly Jane Torrance

Washington Times

Hallam Foe does quite a few rather nasty things, but Mr. Bell's engaging and empathetic performance makes him a character we can't stop caring about.

Rated: 3/4

Dec 13, 2018

Full Review

Sean Nelson

The Stranger (Seattle, WA)

[Mister Foe] creates a gently, but deeply, moral atmosphere.

Aug 22, 2017

Full Review

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Synopsis

British teenager Hallam Foe (Jamie Bell) still mourns his mother's suicide and refuses to open up to his stepmother, Verity (Claire Forlani). After Verity seduces and blackmails him, Hallam runs away to Edinburgh and meets Kate (Sophia Myles), a manager in a hotel who gives him a job. Kate reminds Hallam of his mother, and he begins spying on her from a clock tower overlooking her apartment. Gradually, Hallam and Kate form a complicated relationship as he tries to cope with his mother's death.

Director: David Mackenzie
Executive Producer: Leonard Crooks, Matthew Justice, Duncan Reid
Screenwriter: Peter Jinks, David Mackenzie, Ed Whitmore
Distributor: Magnolia Pictures
Production Co: Scottish Screen, FilmFour, Lunar Films, Ingenious Film Partners
Rating: R (Strong Sexual Content|Language)
Genre: Drama, Romance
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Sep 5, 2008, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 12, 2009
Box Office (Gross USA): $59.3K

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