Hey, everyone. ”Moriarty” here. Albert Lanier’s been sending in reviews from the Hawaiian Film Festival for many years for us, and today he’s got his first preview piece from this year’s festival.
PREVIEW OF HIFF SPRING FEST: MR FOE BY ALBERT LANIER A young couple are sensuously intertwined-passionately kissing, enjoying each other physically- as a young man stationed in a tree house watches them. The couple continue kissing as the woman of the pair starts removing her clothing then her bra. The lad in the tree house is still viewing their amorous activity but instead of showing the telltale signs of arousal, he starts jotting down the phrase "dirty bastard" in a notebook. This propensity to categorize seems more suited to birdwatching or trainspotting then the fine art of being a peeping tom. Then again, that's Hallum Foe for you. He likes to watch but in his own inimitable way. Hallum Foe is the teenage protagonist of the drama MR FOE which will be screening at this year's Hawaii International Film Festival Spring Showcase running from April 18-24. JUMPER's Jamie Bell stars as Hallum, the note-taking peeping tom. When we first meet MR FOE's hero, he is living at a Scottish country estate not far from a breathtaking loch. This where Hallum grew up and where his mother Anne died. Hallum hasn't gotten over his mother's death. His father Julius (played by Ciaran Hinds) has moved on and is married to Hallum's attractive stepmother Verity (played by the stunning Claire Forlani). Even Hallum's sister has moved on with her life. Not Hallum though. His life at present seems to consist of peeping through the windows of the varied residents of his nearby village and nurturing a hatred for Verity who he believes killed his mother in order to allow his father to be free to marry her. Julius and Verity are unsure of what to do with Hallum who has made it clear that he doesn't want to go off to university. After Verity confronts Hallum in his tree house, young Mr Foe decides to head off to the city. While making his way on city rooftops looking for people to watch, his gaze fall upon the lovely blonde form of Kate (Sophia Miles)-an almost dead ringer for his mother- who is walking to work. Hallum scrambles down and follows Kate to her workplace-a hotel. Hallum goes as far as tailing her to her offices inside. Then, Kate notices him waiting several feet from her office. Hallum gathers up enough nerve to ask for a job and manages to get a position cleaning dishes in the kitchen. It is from here that MR FOE begins to gather steam (if that is the right phrase for it) as Hallum begins to keep an eye on Kate, either from the hotel's clock tower or even on the roof of her flat, watching with binoculars as she putters about or makes hot, intense love with a married co-worker. What is clear with a story like this is that Hallum must confont the ghosts of the past-the death of his mother-and also set a course for the future. Just how Hallum does this, filmgoers can find out ( or read about on some other website) when they see MR FOE. As for the relative merits or demerits of the film, MR FOE does succeed in navigating potential creepy material without dumbing down the emotional core of the subject matter. Admittedly, at first the film seems like two scoops of "Hamlet" mixed with two scoops of Michael Powell's PEEPING TOM. However, unlike the British classic PEEPING TOM, Hallum is not a victim of a demented and twisted form of apparent child abuse which in PEEPING TOM has stunted the film's main character to such a degree that he is driven to murder but merely a largely quiet and introverted lad who remains utterly devoted to the memory of his dead mum. MR FOE succeeds partially due to the fine work of its director David Mackenzie. Mackenzie( who co-wrote the film's script as well) skillfully steers his actors through the film's slightly creepy material but wisely decides not overload the film with a darkly overwrought tone but lightens the mood at the times. The result is a film that feels transitional throughout-moving from light to dark touches-just as it moves from the sylvan countryside to the urban but not unpleasant cityscape. Mackenzie also gets fine performances from his cast in particular Jamie Bell as the film's main character Hallum. Bell does fine work in MR. FOE in creating a nuanced character out of what could have a one-dimensional part. Bell is so good here because he portrays Hallum not merely as a obsessive mother-loving peeping tom but as a young man on the cusp of adulthood who is wrestling with his issues and interests on the way to becoming a man. Notice how Bell balances a somewhat mild, quiet persona with impassioned verbal precision. When Hallum does speak, he knows precisely what he wants and states exactly what his demands are. The cast is rounded out by fine work by the ever reliable Ciaran Hinds who makes the most of a thankless role as Julius and Claire Forlani and Sophia Miles who get a lot of mileage out of potentially stereotypical roles as Verity and Kate, the objects of Hallum's hatred and affection. What I enjoyed about MR FOE is that it that the film is a true coming of age story that manages to bypass the potential mine fields of obsessive whodunits and creepy melodrama and aims for a slight richer and more evolved canvas on which to paint its characters and backdrop. By the final images of MR. FOE in which Jamie Bell is walking down with a smile on his face, we can understand why the film is called MR. FOE because Hallum has moved away from the obsessions of boyhood and is beginning his path into adulthood.
