Wednesday 6th October 2010

Tamara Drewe

Director: Stephen Frears
Year: 2010
Stars: Gemma Arterton, Dominic Cooper, Bill Camp, Roger Allam, Tamsin Greig, Luke Evans

At times, I really enjoyed this film. At other times, I hated all the characters in it and wondered why anybody would care about any of them. I think this was in fact the point (everybody has their flaws/ nobody is perfect), so I'm not sure if I can truly fault the film for it.

Arterton is Tamara Drewe, a girl who comes back to the Dorset village she grew up in to sell off her mum's house after her death. A lot of the villagers remain, but there are now also some bored teenagers causing havoc.

The bored teenagers are possibly the best thing in this - insightfully written, and probably a lot like how I would have behaved (well, they may be a bit worse) if I'd had to grow up in a tiny village like this one. They are also central to the story - one thing I can say for this film is that no character is wasted. Just like real life, they all have their own subplots, but it being a tiny village, they are also all connected in some way.

Worth a watch, but just don't expect to like any of the characters. You will happily judge them though.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5