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Review - Tamara Drewe
Leicester born Stephen Frears has an impressive back catalogue that includes 'My Beautiful Laundrette' and 'High Fidelity' as well as 'The Queen', and he seems at his best when making movies where the subject matter is close to home. When abroad he can suffer from a lack of judgement as in 'Mary Brown', although he may point the finger at his casting director for that one, as Uma Thurman would have been a better choice than Julia Roberts. No such mistakes here as Leo Davis has assembled a fine UK-based cast, including Tamsin Greig and Roger Allam, who inhabit the writer-infested rural idyll of Ewedown, with all its petty jealousies, betrayals and gossip. Returning from a successful move to London is Tamara Drewe, played by Gemma Arterton, who creates a stir with her new found confidence, and quite an impression in her micro cut off jeans.
This movie reminded me of a cross between 'Stella Street' and 'The Archers', with Roger Allam doing a decent impression of John Sessions, and the kind of understated soap opera plot that would never make it to 'Eastenders'.
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(cont) Instead the raw material comes
from the Posy Simmons
cartoon script that appeared in 'The Guardian' and was itself a
re-working of Thomas Hardy's 'Far From The Madding Crowd'. There
is still the tricky matter of converting this to the big screen, in
view of the fragility when it comes to translating comedy for a mass
audience. Frears can be pleased with his efforts, even if there was
little sign of the sharp characterisation he has enjoyed in his
previous collaborations with Roddy Doyle ('The Van, 'The Snapper').
The exception was the performance of Jessica Barden as teenager
Jody.
Most of the laughs come when Jody is on screen as a super-bored,
rebellious teenager who delivers all the best lines in the movie, aided
by partner-in-crime Charlotte Christie as Casey. They are the catalyst
for the various comings and goings on in the village. Jody's crush on
rock and roll drummer Ben (Dominic Cooper) is complemented by Casey's
caustic view on Tamara, who she simply refers to as 'Plastic'. This is
a reference to her nose job, which is supposed to have transformed her
identity from a rural nobody to a super desirable sexpot, which is
stretching credibility somewhat.
Gemma Arterton has shown her versatility by
following up her superb
performance in the excellent 'The Disappearance of Alice Creed', but
the only award that she is likely to receive for Tamara Drewe is a well
deserved 'Rear Of The Year'. Frears' latest movie is an enjoyable
romp and will exceed audience expectations. Jessica Barden may look
back on it as a defining career moment.
My Rating : 6/10 Entertaining
Review written by John Franklin : September 2010
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