Wednesday, August 15, 2007

Hallam Foe


9:30am is a godforsaken hour for anyone to sit in a darkened cinema, but there I was today watching Hallam Foe at the EIFF. And for such a strange, quirky, by turns sexy and slightly kinky film, it was rather fitting. Beautifully shot, and with a raw, natural performance by Jamie Bell as Hallam, it's a real gem of a film. Really, you should go and see it. It's the story of Hallam, a boy still in the throes of grief from his mother's suicide, which he believes may have actually been murder, and his journey towards dealing with that grief, and ascent into manhood. That sounds a bit dry and serious, but chuck in an evil stepmother, peeping toms, Maurice Roeves as a tough kitchen porter in an Edinburgh hotel, and the complications of sex, binoculars, and a badgers head, then you've got an original, enjoyable, beautifully concise (its only around 90 mins long) film. Oh yes, and it's got funky titles drawn by David Shrigley!

Got a day off tomorrow, when I'm planning to draft up my Red Planet entry, then its back into the Festival fray for some serious networking. Now I'm starting to get the hang of the vagaries of festival driving, it's getting quite addictive. I've still to investigate this Videoteque thing where delegates can hire a little booth and watch 3 hours worth of films - since I can't see me fitting in everything I want to see at dedicated screenings, I have a feeling those booths are going to come in useful.

2 comments:

Lucy V said...

Booths, hey. Now that sounds kinky.

Mandy Lee said...

Boot(h)s start walking! It is rather....