Customer Reviews

Tamara Drewe [Blu-ray]

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

The sleepy English village of Ewedown becomes quite lively when former ugly duckling Tamara Drewe comes back to town. Now sporting a perky new nose and sexy Daisy Dukes, Tamara quickly becomes romantically involved with a rock star, a sleezy older man, and her childhood sweetheart. With a large cast and many subplots, this story of what really goes on behind the quaint postcard-pretty closed doors is full of laughs and tender moments and even some cattle stampedes.

This movie is completely charming. The characters are all believable, the setting is idyllic, and the script is clever and quirky. All of the adult shenanigans are witnessed - and complicated - by a pair of adolescent girls, a kind of comical Greek chorus who tie it all together. If you like good, indie British films, you'll love this one.

I found this film on a really long flight home from Asia and started watching it because it looked easy on the brain. Imagine my surprise when it turned out to be the best film that I've seen all year! The second surprise came when I read all the mixed Amazon reviews - it seems like half the world hates this, and the other half loves it.

To make it easy for you, I think if you like Hollywood style romcoms you will probably hate this, and if you like British black humor, you will probably really like it. This is definitely not a Hollywood romcom. If you want something brainless with a lot of stereotypical characters and a predictable happy ending, then stop reading. It's also not it if you want to be uplifted or intellectually challenged - it's meant to be a social comedy, but the black humor kind, not the kind that offers a serious social critique. There's also lots of dialogue and very little action, and there are no major conclusions, so if you have short attention span and like tidy endings, this is not for you.

So, why did I love this film? Well, as many other reviewers wrote, this is a social comedy set in rural England with plenty of British black humour and mediocre, real-to-life characters. Personally, I think this is the film's real charm. It displays life in all its beautiful-green-grass but nothing to do boredom - think Midsomer Murders - while showing all the life's little quirks and absurdities - bit like Amelie or the Secretary. All the characters are kind of likable, but kind of not: the main character, Tamara Drewe, has our sympathy because she grew up ugly and had to deal with all sorts of nastiness as a result, but at the same time she's arrogant and sleeps with people for all the wrong reasons. Her teenage love is likeable for his down to earth views, but despisable for his lack of ambition. The rockstar Tamara's engaged to is a louche character, but one that loves his dog and treats enamored teenage girls with respect. There's the budding writer who is a coward that lets someone die by accident, but who's just a really nice American guy. There are the obnoxious, pathetic, plain and bored teenage girls, but in the end you're sorry for them, 'cause if you lived in that village you would throw eggs at cars, too...

Is this real life? YES!! People who are bored, not happy with their lives and otherwise unsatisfied with life do all sorts of stupid things, and that doesn't make them bad. It just shows how absurdly ridiculous, sad and sometimes funny life can be. I think the film shows this to perfection but in a really silly, tongue-in-the-cheek kind of way (e.g. super exaggerated teenagers, Tamara in really short shorts.) In my opinion, the best thing about it is that it doesn't treat the issues seriously but rather pokes fun at the mediocrity of life. Plus the sets were gorgeous and the acting fabulous, particularly from the teenage girls. I lived in England for a long time and I just can't shake the feeling that the film holds up the mirror to British life rather well...

"Paperback writer (paperback writer)
Dear Sir or Madam, will you read my book?
It took me years to write, will you take a look?"
-- The Beatles

Based on a graphic novel this story plays more like a Greek Tragedy. It does not quit fit into any category. Still you will find yourself intrigued and kibitzing. Oh what a tangled web we weave.

Local girl Tamara (Gemma Arterton) gets a new proboscis and body to match. After making good as a journalist she returns to her hometown and plays havoc with the local men folk. And that is not all that is happing in the town. To name a couple, we have a married writer with a wondering uh...err... eye, and a couple of schoolgirls playing out their fantasies.

Be prepared for some colorful descriptive words and some suggestive scenes. The only poignant scene that sort of puts a damper on the presentation is when a main character (four-legged) is dispatched while having a little fun, even if it is relevant to the plot.

I only watched the Blu-ray version so I cannot compare. However the voice over commentary is worth taking the time to listen to. I also have not read the novel but will have to to be sure I did not miss anything.

The Girl Most Likely To . . .DVD ~ Stockard Channing

This clever little gem does a great job of capturing the spirit of the Hardy genre and updating it into to a film that has great pacing, a very healthy dose of black humor, interesting and flawed characters, and outstanding performances. The acting is really noteworthy. And the "greek chorus" in the form of bored teenage girls was fantastic. Interesting and original.

"Tamara Drewe" is deadly clever comedy of manners with a wickedly British sense of black humor. Post-plastic-surgery, the gorgeous Tamara Drewe comes home to her boring rural village -- ostensibly to fix up and sell her deceased mother's house, but also to show up everyone who was cruel to her when she was a bright, angry teenager with an outsize nose. One of those people was her writer neighbor, a serial adulterer who reigns over the fawning guests at the farm/writer's colony actually run by his devoted and ultra-capable wife. Throw in the hot local handyman, a couple of dangerously bored teenaged girls, the drummer from a punk band, and a mannerless dog. All kinds of trouble ensue. Don't expect any noble characters or heroic actions from this movie; watch it to enjoy the spectacle of people behaving mostly -- but not totally -- badly, and doing it in a generally clever and funny way.

Gemma Arterton has gathered a bit of a following locally since her dark turn in The Disappearance of Alice Creed [Blu-ray], and I think they will be pleased to see how fun she can be in this film.

The story follows the graphic novel quite closely, right down to the actors looking almost identical to their drawn characters from the series. Having watched and listened to all of the special features on this BD I cannot see how any fan of the series would be disappointed in this adaption. There was quite a bit of work put into getting the story right, and the Blu preserved the scenery and indoor sets perfectly. The picture is pristine throughout, with even the infrequent split-screens looking flawless. The outdoor night sequences were colorful and without grain. The DTS was clear, with a few nice surrounds in the cattle scenes and gunshot sequence. The special features:

* Making of TD, 13:39 minutes. An interview heavy piece with lots of film clips, mostly talking about the characters.
* Reconstructing TD, 10:20 minutes. A much better supplement that features Frears and Arterton comparing the original artwork panels with the resulting film.
* Commentary with the two leads, full length with subtitles available. This was actually a fun and worthy commentary. They both gave great tidbits of trivia about filming and kept the whole thing enjoyable. If you sit on the fence about ever listening to these sometimes tedious supplements, give this one a chance to hear how interesting the commentary can be; Finally an actor being honest about not wanting his mom in the audience for a hot scene (42:00 minute mark).

I felt the ending was a little rushed but it could only go in one direction anyway. The 2.40 ratio was perfect for this film's landscapes and outdoor beauty. English and French 5.1 with subs in same and Spanish. Region coded A. A worthy owner and definitely a renter for an adequate non-action BD demo.

A quiet English village seems like a good spot for a writer's workshop run by a successful novelist and his wife who minds their farm and cooks up a storm. But beneath the surface of the rural quiet, things are bubbling. The novelist is as adulterous as the hero of his potboiler novels, as he fools around with the young woman writer Tamara Drewe who has returned to her native village. The cozy life of these villagers, however, is upset by Tamara taking up with a popular rock star and drummer. This rhythmic snogging and shagging get the attention of two teenage girl fans of the drummer, who go so far as to sneak into Tamara's cottage and email the drummer on her password-unprotected computer (once he has left for his London flat) in order to entice him back to the village and Tamara's bed. The girls' "messing" with Tamara and her life ends up turning over the whole applecart--with hilarious results!

The big Oscar goes to Jessica's Jody and little Oscars go to the other actors, script writer, Posy's original storytelling as a modern adaptation of "Far from the Madding Crowd", set/scene work and director. As usual British superiority over us colonists in delivering an intelligent, imaginative, witty, believable, emotional, creative story. And, on a low budget. Loved the little ironies e.g. cows kill writer (deservedly so); dog gets great funeral; jail bait; shallowness and superficiality of which a nose plays a prominent/projecting (pun) role. Kudos crew.

Can we reapply to the British to be accepted back? Our culture needs a bit of work.

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, December 11

This is a wonderful film by director Stephan Frears, well-paced, well-scripted, well-acted and non-predictable. The movie avoids cliches, builds characters and has them follow their destinies in a charming, humorous and sometimes revealingly gritty story line, bravo!