Tamara Drewe

This is an utterly, utterly English film and all the more charming, wry and artful for that. No wonder both BBC Films and the UK Film Council helped to fund it. Director Stephen Frears ("The Queen")has taken a screenplay by Moira Buffini, adapted from a comic strip by Posy Simmonds which in turn is a kind of pastiche of Thomas Hardy's "Far From the Madding Crowd", and combined it with a wonderful British cast and the stunning Dorset countryside to create a delightful work which could hardly contrast more with the usual Hollywood output.

Set in the mythical and comatose village of Ewedown over the course of one year, the film - like Hardy's book - has three men vying for the attention of a bewitchingly beautiful young woman - Tamara who was brought up in the village, has reshaped her life in so many ways, and now returns as a successful journalist.

The casting is brilliant from gorgeous, former Bond girl ("Quantum Of Solace") Gemma Arterton as the eponymous attraction, sporting the most diminutive denim shorts imaginable, to 17 year old Jessica Barden who is terrific as the village teenager who unwittingly causes most of the mayhem, with so many fine performances in between, whether male or female, whether large or small. For fans of Thomas Hardy, there are many allusions to his character and work. For the rest of us, Buffini's script offers so many sharp lines before serving up a satisfying, if traditional, conclusion.

The Independent journalist Tamara Drewe (Gemma Arterton) returns to Dorset, Ewedown, to sell the Winnard Farm that belonged to her deceased mother. Her neighbor Beth Hardiment (Tamsin Greig) runs a writers retreat with her unfaithful and womanizer husband Nicholas Hardiment (Roger Allam) that is a successful writer of the adventures of his alter-ego Inchcombe and cheats Beth every now and then with younger women. Tamara was the sweetheart of the handyman Andy Cobb (Luke Evans), whose family owned the Winnard Farm but lost it to Tamara's family, and she sees him, she rekindles her love for him.

However, when Tamara travels to interview the unpleasant drummer of the Swipe band Ben Sergeant (Dominic Cooper), he has just found that his girlfriend Fran is having an affair with the other musician Steven Culley and he breaks up with the band. Tamara and Ben have a love affair and Ben moves to Winnard. Meanwhile, Ben's teenager fan Jody Long (Jessica Barden) and her best friend Casey Shaw (Charlotte Christie) that are bored in Ewedown feel happy with the presence of Ben in the village. When Ben proposes Tamara, they travel to London to spend a couple of days in the big city. Meanwhile the jealous Casey breaks in Tamara's house and uses her computer to send an e-mail pretending to be Tamara that will change the lives of the dwellers and end in a tragedy.

"Tamara Drewe" is a disappointing heavy-handed romance and comedy by Stephen Frears. The story is too dramatic for a black-humor comedy and too silly for a drama. Most of the characters are obnoxious, specially the annoying Casey and Ben. Gemma Arterton is very beautiful and when she appears wearing small short is something very sexy. Roger Allam is absolutely out of her league and it is difficult to accept and understand her love affair with such unpleasant man. In the end, I did not like this film. My vote is five.

Title (Brazil): "O Retorno de Tamara" ("The Return of Tamara")

TAMARA DREWE already had a following from her appearance in the best selling graphic novel by the same name by Posy Simmonds, an so it was probably not too difficult for the talented Stephen Frears to direct a pitch perfect cast to bring the delightful story to the screen. Filled to the brim with excellent actors this strange little story has many levels of meaning, but the main story is very well served.

Tamara Drewe (Gemma Arterton) was historically a face to forget in the town of Ewedon, but she leaves for the city and plastic surgery and returns with a new nose and facelift that makes her as attractive as any lass in the town. She plays on the talents of married highly successful crime novelist Nicholas (Roger Allam) to polish her writing skills - the cost is an affair that leaves Nicholas ready to divorce his perfect wife (Tamsin Grieg). She also attracts the interest of her childhood solid friend Andy (Luke Evans) and the rather superficial and silly rock star Ben (Dominic Cooper) and eventually, with the running of interference by two loathsome little girls (Charlotte Christie and Jessica Barden), and it all turns out with many surprises! It is a dissection of relationships a la Thomas Hardy and Frears know how to make it all work very well.

It is always a pleasure to be in the company of fine British actors in a lovely English countryside setting and this is no exception. Everyone in the cast is excellent - and it continues to be a pleasure to watch the very talented Dominic Cooper grow in the challenging roles he assumes. There are many reasons to enjoy this film, and among them is the sheer craftsmanship of the British cinema.

Grady Harp

London columnist Tamara Drewe (Gemma Aterton) reappears in a small and isolated village in the English countryside. She wants to sell her parents' house and interview a rock star. Soon enough, three males fall for the young and very attractive woman : romance novelist and cheating husband Nicholas Hardiment (Roger Allam), rock star Ben Sargeant (Dominic Cooper) and past boyfriend Andy Cobb (Luke Evans). While her house is being renovated by Andy, Tamara writes her own novel and enjoys Ben's company. Little does she know that teenager Jody Long (Jessica Barden) is scheming to come closer to the rock star. In the course of a year, each character will find out that "The road to hell is paved with good intentions".

Don't expect an in-depth / social demonstration on city dwellers vs. villagers. This is a brilliant and funny comedy where each character's selfish motives and agenda are gradually exposed. "Writers are just thieves and liars" quotes Nicholas blissfully, more careful to please his paying guests than to pay attention to his devoted wife Beth (Tamsin Greig).

The actors are doing a fine job and there is a good chemistry between them. There are no dull moments since there are three main story lines : Tamara and Ben, her neighbors Nicholas and Beth, the mischievous teenagers. These two girls however tend to steal the show as they are so gross, unashamed and reckless !

"Tamara Drew" is the typical irreverent British comedy, where comedy is not for its own sake, on the contrary the witty humour leaves space to some reflection upon human relationships, and love is responsible of all the twists and damages within the story. But what is interesting is not the story itself, which is quite lacking any significance, being the plot in the service of the characters, as they are more complex than they may seem. At the beginning they appear as prototypes of human vices or virtues: the unfaithful husband, the good supporting and reconciling wife, the sex bomb who would make every man fall into her bed, the good-hearted intellectual who still has some moral values... and in a way they are. But as the story progresses it helps reveal their complexity, to come to the conclusion that life is more simple than people often pretend it to be. The movie offers amusing moments, but it gets in a way a black comedy , mainly in the end, revealing some crudity, as if some kind of justice has to be rendered. The cast is explosive, the actress playing Tamara is undoubtedly suitable for her role, all the people living in the village are authentic and credible, showing a good chemistry between them, and the two girls, mainly Jodie, are really sparkling. On the whole, an entertaining product, full of humour to be explored.