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TAMARA DREWE Stephen Frears Starring Gemma Arterton Dominic Cooper Luke Evans Roger Allam Bill Camp Tamsin Greig Tamara Drewe is a film adaptation of a comic loosely based upon Thomas Hardy's novel, Far From The Madding Crowd. After the recent death of her mother, journalist Tamara Drewe returns home to the forgotten rural hideaway of Ewedown, to sell off her inheritance. Whilst visiting she casually meets up with old acquaintances and love interests, sporting her new nose job and arse barely covered by short-shorts. Her arrival causes a stir amongst the locals and although she has no love for the area, she demonstrates an ability to write freely previous unknown to her. Throw in a high-maintenance rock star, an aging crime-novelist, an embittered young farmhand, lots of sex and swearing and you're pretty much there. The film opens reasonably well, enticing audiences with a potentially amusing look into the thought patterns and emerging distractions that writers frequently face but unfortunately, it quickly descends into a seedy Alan Titchmarsh comedy about lecherous characters rutting in the countryside - as if to break the fourth wall stating, "We don't half like a bit of fun in the country, if you know what I mean. Eh? Eh? Know what I mean?" Nudging and winking all the while. Upon analysing this film, there was a distinct possibility that Tamara Drewe is actually an incredibly intelligent tale of comeuppance and the varying amounts that devious individuals seemingly get away with. This could, however, be purely projectionist wish-fulfilment as other than a few hints, there is very little evidence to support this theory. Like most mainstream British comedies with their made-for-TV direction, forgettable 2D characters and wholly hackneyed plot twists, this entire affair is stiflingly twee and overly perky. I think my biggest frustration with this film is the thoroughly unlikeable lead characters that populate this tale. Tamara is reasonably well-played by Gemma Arterton (considering how little the role entails), Allam delivers a fine portrayal of seedy novelist Nicholas Hardiment (although all that's required of him is to be a smarmy cheating bastard) and Tamsin Greig as Hardiment's frustrated wife proves to be one of the sole highlights of the film. The narrative progresses from situation-to-situation without any sense of real direction before abandoning all hope of actual resolution and simply draws the film to a close. Despite this there are a few interesting directorial quirks employed by Stephen Frears to ensure the audience remain seated until the finale; but all-in-all it's a very simple (if not incredibly tedious) tale with very little to say. It is my opinion that this film desperately appeals to the basest element of the intellectual snobbery in the same way that tits and fast cars appeal to the opposite end of the scale; as if to say, "I am witty and clever and delightfully charming, therefore I am" but it's not, it's just shit. Release Date: 10th September 2010 The Scene To Look Out For: One of the main subplots follows two frustrated fifteen year olds and their quest to find something to do in their boring rural town. After Tamara becomes entangled with famous drummer Ben Sergeant [Cooper], the young teens (specifically Jody, played by Jessica Barden) desperately try to voyeuristically explore his life. One scene in particular details one of Jody's fantasies; it starts tamely enough but as it progresses we begin to witness what she's thinking about. I know I'm prudish about certain things (despite this I still shouted down criticism that Kick Ass' use of a similar aged girl was far from inappropriate) but depicting a fifteen year old girl being seduced by a thirty something drummer is just a touch off. Notable Characters: I'm pretty sure I hated everyone. The only character I truly sympathised with was Hardiment's wife, Beth - played by Tamsin Grieg - but they didn't give her a great deal to do, which is a pity. In addition to that, Bill Camp's nervous bumbling was mildly amusing, if a little cheap but the final summation of his plot thread seemed somewhat macabre considering the circumstances - circumstances that I will not go into for fear of ruining the film for anyone who hasn't been listening to a word I've said. Highlighted Quote: "When the hat is on, no one may talk to me" In A Few Words: "Typically twee hollow nonsense that could easily have been made for television and we would have been none-the-wiser - but far better off" Total Score: 
4/10Matthew Stogdon |
