Film and TV

All luscious lips and curvaceous lines, Gemma Arterton is perfectly cast as femme fatale Tamara Drewe
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Film review - Tamara Drew

By Kim Francis
September 08, 2010

Stephen Frears has some pedigree. Director of The Queen, he is also the man at the helm of Hanif Kureishi-penned films My Beautiful Laundrette – a critical hit on its 1985 release – and 1987’s Sammy and Rosie Get Laid, as well as landmark US films Dangerous Liaisons, The Grifters and High Fidelity. As such, he is an unlikely name for directing duties on Tamara Drewe, a low-budget Richard Curtis-flavoured romantic comedy based on a comic strip.

That said, he does give it a modicum of depth and there is evidence of an acutely-observed slice of middle class country-dwelling life that injects some worthiness into the proceedings and lifts the film above the comedy-for-comedy’s-sake tag.

The Posy Simmonds comic strip which appeared in The Guardian and which itself is based on Thomas Hardy’s Far From the Madding Crowd has been closely adhered to in the making of the movie adaptation and, as a result, the film is a minor triumph.

Tamara Drewe (Gemma Arterton) is a successful young journalist who returns to her childhood home in the English countryside when it is put up for sale. Her return causes something of a stir amongst the locals as her emotions for her teenage love re-emerge, feelings of lust are ignited and she brings new boyfriend Ben Sergeant, drummer from rock band Swipe, into the village, sending two hormonal schoolgirls mad with envy.

It’s fair to say she turns life in the rural idyll upside down. But as those around her are forced to face their own issues as a result of the sparks created by her re-appearance, so secrets and lies are uncovered and confronted.

Tamara Drewe is one of the most charming British comedies since the Mike Newell-directed Four Weddings and a Funeral, making eye-catching use of some glorious Dorset locations and shining a light on the oft-neglected (in cinematic terms) middle classes.

All luscious lips and curvaceous lines, Gemma Arterton is perfectly cast as femme fatale Tamara Drewe, the object of affection for several of the village’s males, but it is Tamsin Greig that is the true heart of this film. Her affecting performance as the under-appreciated wife of successful writer Nicholas Hardiment (Roger Allam) makes your heart break.

Most of the film’s funniest moments occur when schoolgirls Jessica (Jody Long) and Charlotte (Casey Shaw) are on screen. Both put in accurate performances that brilliantly capture the small-town teen.

The stereotyped rock star character aside (warning: Dominic Cooper may make you squirm), Tamara Drewe is an absorbing British comedy film with a heart and a theatrical feel that makes it feel worth a little more than the average low-budget rom-com.

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