Review of Tamara Drewe (2010) by Paul S — 12 Dec 2011

Tamara Drewe is a dark satire, a genre that the Brits seem to do oh so very well... most of the time. Here you have a Stephen Frears film that begins with a very nice, off beat in a typically English way, rhythm - full of snide little asides and wink, wink moments as it depicts an out of the way village that is home to a writer's retreat. The concept of the writer's retreat allows the script to dally, spending time observing Nuevo riche mores, a bit of class struggles, and "learned" observations on Thomas Hardy (and if you're saying to yourself, "who is Thomas Hardy?" then this film really isn't your cup of Earl Grey).

The story mainly pertains to the group of writers that congregate around the retreat, which is run by Beth Hardiment (Tamen Greig) and financed by her husband Nicholas (Roger Allam), a successful writer of crime novels. Beth is the perfect hostess, always cooking up something wondrous in the kitchen, while hubby is an arrogant boor, confident that his literary success marks him as someone to be listened to.

Into their idyllic hamlet steps the titular girl Tamara, who grew up there a member of the landed gentry, but hampered by a keen resemblance to Jimmy Durante. It is now 10 years later and armed with a new proboscis, Tamara returns, obstensively to do a bit of work on the old country manor in preparation to put it up for sale.

Of course everyone is smitten by Tamara (Gemma Arterton), and for a time, this near bedroom farce will entertain, especially as it is observed by two precocious girls in their early teens. In the pudding are the Hardiment's handyman, whose family once owned what is now the Drewe manor; and a rock drummer who is the idol of the young girls and seduces Tamara (who is a free-lance writer) by pinning her against the kitchen cabinets and then drumming on all the pots, pans, spice bottles, and whatever else is nearby.

The acting throughout is top drawer, from all the already mentioned to Dominic Cooper as the drummer, Luke Evans as the handyman, and Bill Camp as an American scholar trying to overcome writers block and write the definitive treatise on Hardy. The two precocious teens are also a joy, and the first half of the film is snappy and entertaining... but then it sadly becomes all a muddle, with motivations running off the rails in what becomes a shag fest parody that loses its focus.

All of the good work in the first half of the film is squandered, especially when you realize that Tamara, who along with the teens instigates the action, isn't really a defined character. You wonder what she's doing and why, and the film woefully neglects to fill in the blanks, leaving you to assume that this is just an ugly duckling tale, and Tamara is taken by her own new sexuality and wants to go out for a test drive or ten.

The film could have survived these omissions, but sadly the second half of the film becomes episodic; little vignettes and skits that include a totally unnecessary bit involving the drummer's pet dog. All the momentum seems to slide away, and you begin to not care about anyone other than the American and Beth.

I suppose it wasn't easy to juggle the multiple threads with all the characters involved, but Frears I believe could have done a better job, as the handyman, who is in the forefront for the first half of the film, all but disappears until the film's conclusion, where it is really unnecessary for him to make an appearance, other than for appearance sake. This is all unfortunate, for I truly enjoyed the first half of the film - which of course makes its slide into convention and mediocrity in the 2nd half all the more maddening.