Mr. Foe

Mr. Foe - Hallam Foe (Jamie Bell) is confused. He's an aging boy who likes to hang out in a tree house, no he's a creepy peeping tom with a notebook. He's a disturbed adolescent who's mother died and now he hates, no loves, no blames his stepmother Verity (Claire Forlaini). After a particularly creepy scene with Verity, young Mr. Foe runs away from home to Edinburgh, where he spots his dead mother, well Kate (Sophia Myles) her younger doppelganger. More confused love ensues until Father (Ciaran Hinds) and Verity show up to drive Hallam into crisis and ultimately, resolution . This sounds awful, but Hallam Foe, with his badger hat, Braveheart makeup, serious mother issues and unnerving propensity for heights, is an engaging character coming of age in a minefield of stereotypes, most neatly avoided. The stepmother is a step or two beyond credulity and the film drags a little in the middle, but Jamie Bell's performance and an ending that dodged a lot of bullets carried the picture for me. The Igby crowd will thrive on Mr. Foe and most of the rest of us will have that confusing I liked it, well except for... well I think I liked it, reaction when we get home.