This oddball coming-of-age drama defies characterisation in a way that can only spell quality. Jamie Bell demonstrates just how far he has come as an actor playing the eponymous hero of director David McKenzie’s (Young Adam, Asylum) fine fourth film.
We open in full-blown oedipal territory. Obsessed by the death of his mother and a belief that she was murdered by his dad Julius (Hinds) and stepmother Verity (Forlani), Hallam has gone native on his family’s vast highland estate. When he’s not hiding in his tree-house, he’s out spying on people. His voyeurism and a twisted confrontation with Mom 2 leads him to a new stalking ground in Edinburgh. There he glimpses a young woman (Myles) with a forbidding resemblance to his late mother. She immediately becomes the unhealthy object of his affections. As Hallam hops across the rooftops of the Granite City to keep an eye on his beloved and her married boyfriend, a peculiar love triangle slowly forms.
Watching Hallam’s impressive climbing skills, his retreats to a secret lair and his penchant for mummy’s old dresses, it can feel like this is a remarkably leftfield superhero genesis tale. That, however, is only half the story. Mr. Mackenzie’s compellingly wayward approach to tone takes in romantic comedy, dark fairy tale and disturbing psyche-out. Just when you think some poor bunny or similar is sure to end up in a pot, the film segues into lightness and hilarity. Like its protagonist, we’re hopping between all kinds of rooftops – but the air up here is mighty good.