Tamara Drewe

Director: Stephen Frears
Writers: Moira Buffini, Posy Simmonds (author)
Starring: Gemma Arterton, Dominic Cooper, Roger Allam
Release Date: October 8, 2010
Length: 1 hour 51 minutes

Stephen Frears, best known for directing Mrs. Henderson Presents and The Queen, takes on the dark romantic comedy, Tamara Drewe, based off the graphic novels. Filled with that familiar British wit and oddity, Tamara Drewe tells the story of a tactless young woman, whose presence shakes up a small English town. Gemma Arterton is Tamara, a twenty six year old journalist who lives in London. When her mother dies, Tamara must travel back to her old town to figure out what she will do with her Mum’s house. When she arrives in this dreaded place, she see’s her old neighbours, including the guy she lost her virginity to, Andy (Luke Evans). The reason Tamara detests this town so much is because while she lived in it, she was an ugly disgusting teenager, with a huge nose, as opposed to the sophisticated, beautiful young lady she is today (with a new nose). While attending a local concert to interview the band, she meets eyeliner-wearing drummer, Ben (Dominic Cooper). The two sleep together and eventually have their relationship blossom into an engagement while they live in Tamara’s mom’s house, which she decides not to sell. The film takes place over the course of a year and delves into the complicated lives of everyone living in this countryside town, not just Tamara’s. I went into this movie thinking it would be a nice funny romantic comedy from England. How nice that would have been. Instead it ended up being a very dark comedy that reminds you of how creepy and disturbing suburbia can be, sort of similar to the film American Beauty, in that way. The film had a wide set of diverse characters, each who had their own plots, and I have to say I honestly did not care about any of them. I did not feel myself understanding nor empathizing or caring for any one of the characters in this movie. I laughed a few times in the beginning of the film but toward the end when I wasn’t even paying attention to the storyline, I felt like I would be taking energy out of myself to laugh at something I didn’t care about. Thank heavens, Gemma Arterton starred in this movie because I have always loved her as an actress, and if not for her performance, I would have been bored to tears through the two hours of this film. As usual, Arterton had her confident lovely voice paired with her witty and smart mannerisms that captivated me once more. She took on a character I found myself hating, and at the same time, I still loved Arerton for it. That is why I won’t remember her as the girl in this lifeless movie, but as the magnificent actress who stopped me from falling asleep. Dominic Cooper (Mamma Mia!) was also funny in his role as Rock star Ben Sergeant. It’s quite a change to see him constantly wearing leather as opposed to a swimsuit or nicely suited up in An Education. I appreciate the spunk and peculiarity the film conveyed but along with Gemma Arterton’s performance, it wasn’t enough to make me like this unexciting film. This was unfortunately one of the most disappointing films at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival. I did not hate this film with a passion; I just simply wanted to leave. Hopefully Gemma Arterton’s next movie will be more interesting because Tamara Drewe was just not my cup of tea.