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Mister Foe

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Mister Foe (2008)

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Reviews Counted:60

Fresh:43

Rotten:17

Average Rating:6.5/10

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

Rated: R [See Full Rating] for strong sexual content and language.

Runtime: 1 hr 36 mins

Genre: Dramas

Theatrical Release:Sep 5, 2008 Limited

Synopsis: MISTER FOE is director David MacKenzie's offbeat film adaptation of Peter Jinks's coming-of-age story centered on the unlikely protagonist of Hallam Foe, excellently portrayed by Jamie Bell (BILLY... MISTER FOE is director David MacKenzie's offbeat film adaptation of Peter Jinks's coming-of-age story centered on the unlikely protagonist of Hallam Foe, excellently portrayed by Jamie Bell (BILLY ELLIOT). A troubled young man beset with voyeuristic tendencies and a strong Oedipal longing for his dead mother, Hallam is a sensitive and volatile teenager who has taken to spying on his stepmother, Verity (Claire Forlani), who he suspects is responsible for his mother's death by drowning two years earlier. When a charged psychosexual confrontation with Verity stokes the fires of his unresolved grief, Hallam flees his father's country estate for the picturesque Scottish capital of Edinburgh. There, he sets his sights on Kate (Sophia Myles), an attractive hotel manager who happens to bear a striking resemblance to his late mother. Soon, through a bit of charm and more than a little stalking, Hallam scores a menial job under Kate's employ; romantically--or creepily, depending on your viewpoint--Hallam pines for Kate from a distance, observing her daily activities (kickboxing, grooming, sex), through binoculars. Hallam's adolescent fantasies soon blossom into an unlikely romance when, during an after-work function, Kate revealingly declares, "I like creepy guys." While MISTER FOE tackles some rather unsettling psychological territory, David MacKenzie infuses the film with enough light, comic touches and a playful atmosphere of magic realism to prevent it from edging toward dolorous melodrama. Rounding out this very likeable indie feature are a delightful animated title sequence by artist David Shirgley, and a spirited soundtrack from Domino Records, featuring a bevy of Scottish rockers such as Franz Ferdinand and Orange Juice. [More]

Starring: Jamie Bell, Ciaran Hinds, Sophia Myles, Jamie Sives

Starring: Jamie Bell, Ciaran Hinds, Sophia Myles, Jamie Sives, Maurice Roeves, Ewen Bremner, Claire Forlani

Director: David Mackenzie

Director: David Mackenzie
Screenwriter: David Mackenzie, Ed Whitmore
Producer: Gillian Berrie

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Release:

Nov 11, 2008

[DVD Details]
 
 
  • Jamie Bell is Hallam Foe, a troubled young man whose knack for voyeurism paradoxically reveals his darkest fears, and his most peculiar desires. Driven to expose the true cause of his mother's death, he instead finds himself searching the rooftops of the city of Edinburgh for love.
  • Source: Magnolia Home Entertainment
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    Reviews for Mister Foe

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    1 - 20 (sorted by date)
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    it's ultimately impossible to rise above the overly melodramatic script. The world doesn't really need another wicked stepmother, after all.

    Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com | comment Comment
    10/28/08
    Don Willmott
    Don Willmott
    Filmcritic.com

    Grumpy Glaswegians going at it are once again the focus of David ("Young Adam") Mackenzie's bleak and dreary -- but not wholly uninteresting -- drama.

    Full Review Source: rec.arts.movies.reviews | comment Comment
    10/23/08
    David N. Butterworth
    David N. Butterworth
    rec.arts.movies.reviews

    Another successful and intriguing entry in Mackenzie's growing oeuvre.

    Full Review Source: Reel.com | comment Comment
    10/18/08
    Bonnie Fazio
    Bonnie Fazio
    Reel.com

    Bell was a decent kid actor and a terrific dancer in Billy Elliot, but he's grown into a really first-rate actor.

    Full Review Source: San Francisco Chronicle | comment Comment
    10/18/08
    David Wiegand
    David Wiegand
    San Francisco Chronicle
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

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

    Full Review Source: Chicago Tribune | comment Comment
    10/18/08
    Michael Phillips
    Michael Phillips
    Chicago Tribune
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    It's a coming of age you can believe in.

    Full Review Source: Washington Post | comment Comment
    10/09/08
    Michael O'Sullivan
    Michael O'Sullivan
    Washington Post
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    The final installment of Mackenzie's 'sex trilogy' is so strenuously edgy it's tiresome.

    Full Review Source: Washington City Paper | comment Comment
    10/09/08
    Tricia Olszewski
    Tricia Olszewski
    Washington City Paper

    This Scottish film often pushes for realism, though its stylish tones fall back on whimsy.

    Full Review Source: Film Threat | comment Comment
    09/26/08
    Matthew Sorrento
    Matthew Sorrento
    Film Threat

    While the film playfully telegraphs its inspirations, Mister Foe never persuasively comes together as a dark fable about an adolescent misfit stuck in loss.

    Full Review Source: Seattle Times | comment Comment
    09/19/08
    Tom Keogh
    Tom Keogh
    Seattle Times

    [Director David] Mackenzie has reined in the strangeness to deliver a conventional, if better than average, mystery.

    Full Review Source: Seattle Post-Intelligencer | comment Comment
    09/18/08
    Bill White
    Bill White
    Seattle Post-Intelligencer

    By the end of "Hallam Foe," you've nearly forgotten his all-too-regular boy development. Now you're wondering, what's Kate doing when he's not looking?

    Full Review Source: PopMatters | comment Comment
    09/12/08
    Cynthia Fuchs
    Cynthia Fuchs
    PopMatters

    Didn't I review this coming-of-age picture back in the spring when it was called Charlie Bartlett?

    Full Review Source: Combustible Celluloid | comment Comment
    09/11/08
    Jeffrey M. Anderson
    Jeffrey M. Anderson
    Combustible Celluloid

    Jamie Bell in his most memorable outing since Billy Elliot, as a Peeping Tom acting upon Oedipal urges in a dysfunctional family drama from Scotland.

    Full Review Source: EURWeb | comment Comment
    09/06/08
    Kam Williams
    Kam Williams
    EURWeb

    A worthy addition to Holden Caulfield's coming-of-age subgenre of off-kilter teenage boys let loose in big cities. Bell and Myles give terrific performances.

    Full Review Source: The Cinema Source | comment Comment
    09/05/08
    Michael Dance
    Michael Dance
    The Cinema Source

    Although it's nice to see Mackenzie find uplift in the erotic, what helps drive Mister Foe is how deftly he turns chasm into intimacy between Bell and Myles, both of whom give sharply observed, charismatic portrayals.

    Full Review Source: Los Angeles Times | comment Comment
    09/05/08
    Robert Abele
    Robert Abele
    Los Angeles Times
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    Jamie Bell gives a watchable performance in this self-conscious, coming-of-age drama, though the film's overall effect is best described as David Lynch lite.

    Full Review Source: New York Daily News | comment Comment
    09/05/08
    Joe Neumaier
    Joe Neumaier
    New York Daily News
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    Jamie Bell has his best role since Billy Elliot in Mister Foe, a darkly comic tale of a twisted teen on the cusp of adulthood.

    Full Review Source: New York Post | comment Comment
    09/05/08
    Lou Lumenick
    Lou Lumenick
    New York Post
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    Director David Mackenzie's complex story is never sure exactly what tone to strike.

    Full Review Source: Oregonian | comment Comment
    09/05/08
    Grant Butler
    Grant Butler
    Oregonian

    You find yourself wishing that what happened in Edinburgh stayed in Edinburgh.

    Full Review Source: USA Today | comment Comment
    09/05/08
    Claudia Puig
    Claudia Puig
    USA Today
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    [The film's] intellectualized sexuality stirs neither the head nor the nether regions.

    Full Review Source: Cinematical | comment Comment
    09/05/08
    Nick Schager
    Nick Schager
    Cinematical
     
     
    1 - 20 (sorted by date)
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    Latest News for Mister Foe

    January 08, 2009: RT Interview: Jamie Bell talks Defiance and Dance
    Jamie Bell tap-danced his way into the national consciousness with his breakthrough performance in Billy Elliot nine years ago. Since then he has worked with heavyweight screen... More...

    November 02, 2008: Baret DVD News: A movie about a Scottish Peeping Tom who is sufficiently demented to give even Peeping Toms a bad name, it seems to be a lot less about fetish and voyeurism, than warped emotional espionage as pathological mommy love. Opens in new window
    More...

    September 08, 2008: Teen Peeping Tom acts upon oedipal urges in dysfunctional family drama from Scotland. Opens in new window
    More...

    September 03, 2008: A movie about a Scottish Peeping Tom who is sufficiently demented to give even Peeping Toms a bad name, it seems to be a lot less about fetish and voyeurism, than warped emotional espionage as pathological mommy love. Opens in new window
    More...

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