Newport Beach Film Festival

By Rowan Harrison

Welcome to Orange County, home of conservative modest living, sun, surf and high end shopping and the latter holds true especially at Newport’s Fashion Island.   However for the next eight days, in the midst of the Bloomingdale’s, Neiman Marcus, and the other  fashionable boutiques, Newport’s Fashion Island is the venue for the annual Newport Beach Film Festival. 

Screening about 350 films, from many different parts of the world, in a course of eight days, the Newport Beach Film Festival is definitely one of the biggest and well attended film festivals, in Southern California.  With two Edwards theatre complexes located right in the middle of the glitz and glamour, and the Lido Theatre about a couple miles away by the sea, it makes things rather convenient for movie going attendees.

After shuffling past the ticketing, information, will call booths and the array of promotional materials, tee shirts and a barrage of people going to and fro. This field correspondent made his way to the first of about a dozen planned screenings, so without further ado, our first film for tonight’s Friday night agenda is Mister Foe.

Mister Foe

Directed: David Mackenzie

Scottish film maker David Mackenzie tells the story adapted from the book by Peter Jinks of a young English man who is struggling to cope with the all too soon death of his mother. 

David Mackenzie who brought us the 2003, film Young Adam, about struggle, carnal obsession, and forbidden love that starred Ewan McGregor and Tilda Swinton, embarks on similar territory in Mister Foe.  However unlike his predecessor Young Adam, David Mackenzie also explores the tangled relationships between parent and sibling, during the aftermath of a debilitating tragedy.

In the English countryside Hallem sits in his tree house meandering through some of his mom’s personal effects, jewelry, clothing an identification card.  Trying to deal with the troublesome death of his mom, he manifests his emotions in unusual behavior by spying on people and putting on his mother’s makeup and clothing.  Yet the most vexing situation for Hallem is the relationship between his dad and his newly acquired step mom. 

Annoyed by his new step mother and suspicions of foul play surrounding his mother’s death, which according to his father was suicide by overdose.  Hallem has an intense confrontation with his step-mom “I think it’s time to fly the nest, Hallem and I think you know that,” which drives him away from his countryside mansion to the dark foreboding streets of London. 

After a rough first night on a London rooftop, Kate a blond look a like of Hallem’s mom catches his attention as she walks down the street.  The human resource representative in a lavish hotel, Kate is unaware that she is being followed by Hallem.  Clever and quick thinking he manages to convince Kate to hire him as a kitchen porter in the hotel. 

Hallem’s adoration and obsession with Kate, pays off as he finds himself in her arms after the two spend an evening in a local pub.  What seems to be an ideal event for Hallem, becomes ill-natured as he is unable to give himself physically to Kate.  Yet when he does, he finds himself caught in the quagmire of his own unorthodox courtship and Kate’s inability of knowing what she wants.

Kate played by Sophia Myles from Art School Confidential walks through similar territory with a little more venturesome as the unsure female character being courted and sought after.  Jamie Bell from Billy Elliot and Chumscrubber is rather convincing as the young man looking for some type of existence as he deals with the uncertainties of his life.

There is a lot that is going on in Mister Foe, it’s a piece that explores the unusual set of circumstances within relationships on so many levels. It’s a film with a dark palette, with music from Juana Molina, Hood, Clinic and Testicicles it is one of those contemporary well photographed art films that elevates itself beyond its unconventional ideas and one that provides a bit of hope.