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Grief, voyeurism and latent necrophilia make a beguiling brew in Hallam Foe, a smart coming-of-age tale from the director of Young Adam. Jamie Bell plays the titular hero, a Scottish Holden Caulfield so cut up by his mother's suicide he runs off to Edinburgh to find a girl just like her. Yes, he's one sick little puppy. But helmer David Mackenzie takes pains to keep him this side of likeable, as he weaves an intriguing web of mystery, romance and farce.

From the moment Hallam swings down from his woodland treehouse in his trademark badger hat to interrupt a pair of necking teenagers, we suspect he's not exactly the full haggis. And those fears are confirmed when he accuses his father's calculating new bride (Claire Forlani) of engineering his mum's death, only to immediately follow his weak-willed dad (Ciaran Hinds) into her bed.

"IMPRESSIVE RETURN TO FORM"

Taking refuge in the city, this addled adolescent becomes fixated on a woman (Sophia Myles) with an uncanny resemblance to you know who. Taking a day job as a kitchen porter, he spends his nights up on the gables spying on her liaisons with married hotel manager Alasdair (Jamie Sives), as he plucks up the courage to make his own feelings known. Backed by Giles Nuttgens' atmospheric widescreen visuals, kooky animated titles and a too-cool-for-school indie soundtrack, Hallam Foe represents an impressive return to form for Mackenzie after the lacklustre Asylum. Bell, meanwhile, is terrific in a role that finally allows him to lay Billy Elliot to rest.

Hallam Foe is out in the UK on 31st August