HALLAM FOE

This is a 2007 drama written and directed by David Mackenzie. It stars Jamie Bell (last staring in Billie Elliot) as Hallam, a troubled 17 year old with a voyeuristic obsession who is trying to come to terms with his mother’s sudden death.

The film follows Hallam's journey of struggling to accept the change and the loss around him, all the time suspecting his stepmother had a hand in his own mothers demise; he moves from the tree tops of his home estate to the roof tops of Edinburgh where he befriends and falls for his mothers lookalike. Hallem's voyeurism eventually finds him some in trouble at work and with his new life.

Hallam and in fact all the characters are portrayed really well. You're drawn into the movie and convinced all the way through; this is also driven my the cinematography as colour tones are bleak giving you that sense of grit and reality where as at the same time we're are shown the city tops exploring area and view points we often don't get to see.

"Hallam Foe" is defiantly an emotional ride of self-discovery but set aside from the mainstream tearjerker’s it offers more substance in its dark yet magical romantic story.

DOGTOOTH

I caught this movie "Dogtooth" at the Corner House and had no real idea of what to expect. It's a subtitled Greek film directed by Giorgo Lanthimos and released in the UK early this year.

The plot progresses slowly and bit-by-bit you unveil the sinister situation driven by two parents narcissistic compulsion to control their children. The children now grown are shut off from the world with only their parents as a source of information; this is until the "domesticated bliss" is disrupted. In an effort to stabilise his home you unravel the extent of the fathers twisted mentality.

The film poses many questions and as slow as the story may progress your mind is still sat racing trying to understand a scene and make sense of the situation. Part of this is driven by the lack of music throughout the film as your subconscious isn't being told how to feel or what may be round the corner for a change; this really added impact to certain scenes and worked well over the entire movie.

Dogtooth holds a bold plot and strong script and with talented actors filling the family rolls. Although far from a bloodbath (minus one scene) and even with it's slow pace plot it's still a really hard hitting movie that shocks, appalls and appeals so depending on your taste you'll either love or hate.