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Gemma Arterton, Roger Allam, Dominic Cooper, Bill Camp, Luke Evans ... see more see more... , Tamsin Greig , Jessica Barden , Charlotte Christie , James Naughtie , John Bett , Josie Taylor , Bronagh Gallagher , Pippa Haywood , Susan Wooldridge , Amanda Lawrence , Zahra Ahmadi , Cheryl Campbell , Alex Kelly , Emily Bruni , Lola Frears , Tom Allen , Patricia Quinn , Walter Hall , Joel Fry , Lois Winstone , Nathan Cooper , Benjamin Todd , Albert Clark

Stephen Frears directed this comedy drama about an ugly duckling who's followed by a handful of suitors after maturing into a sexy swan. Tamara Drewe (Gemma Arterton) was born and raised in Ewedown, a... read more read more... quiet community on the outskirts of London dominated by a writer's colony run by Nicholas Hardiment (Roger Allam), a best-selling novelist who specializes in crime fiction, and his wife Beth (Tamsin Greig). When Tamara left Ewedown, she was a plain and awkward teenager, but when she returns home for the first time in years, the locals are surprised to discover that time (and a nose job) have turned her into an attractive and alluring woman, and she's gained a share of money and fame thanks to a successful newspaper column. Tamara has returned to Ewedown after the death of her mother in order to refurbish the family home and put it on the market. Before long, Tamara finds herself pursued by three men from her past -- Andy Cobb (Luke Evans), her former boyfriend who has been hired to help fix up the house; Ben Sergeant (Dominic Cooper), the swaggering drummer with a local indie rock band flirting with larger success; and Nicholas (Roger Allam), who is chronically unfaithful to his wife and sees an opportunity with the neighborhood girl who was infatuated with him in her teens. Tamara Drewe was adapted from the graphic novel of the same name by Posy Simmonds, which was in turn inspired by Thomas Hardy's novel Far From the Madding Crowd. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

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114 critics

R, 1 hr. 51 min.

Directed by: Stephen Frears

Release Date: October 8, 2010

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DVD Release Date: February 8, 2011

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Flixster Reviews (707)

  • jmanard52
    July 20, 2011
    jmanard52
    A strange mix of comedy and drama. A cute film with a couple stand out performances. Youngster Jessica Barden plays her character well and its her mis placed young crush now that set into motion events that bring the main character's crushes as a child into a topsy turvy . . i do... read morent know where to go with this. The movie was better than I expected but not amazing.

    In fact while Gemma Arterton is the title character I was more interested in the characters revolving around her in the little community of Ewedown. Worth the time watching as a change of pace from the standard American dramedies out there.
  • fb1038944442
    May 7, 2012
    fb1038944442
    Tamara Drewe is a highly disappointing film, considering the excellent director (Frears) and stellar English cast. It is neither funny enough to be a rural sex farce (like Bergman's 'Smiles for a Summer Night' or even 'The Big Chill'), nor is it melodramatic, juicy or meaningful... read more enough to be a great, ripping Victorian style yarn. It splits the difference and fails to achieve either goal, and loses the audience early in the movie.

    Taking a contemporary graphic novel (by Posy Simmonds) inspired by a Thomas Hardy book sounds intriguing, but this entire movie worth much less than each of its excellent component parts. I know the Hardy story (Far From the Madding Crowd) is a far more satisfying experience, and though I haven't read the Posy SImmonds graphic novel, it must surely be more consistent in tone and execution than this hodgepodge.

    Tamara (Gemma Arterton) is a former ugly duckling with a huge honker who returns to her native village as a successful journalist and is now a swan (with an all correcting nose job) and proceeds to have affairs with three contrasting men, a local married thriller writer (Allam), a rock star (Cooper) and finally, the salt of the earth good man (Evans) who is a down on his luck laborer on her family's property.

    Arterton is certainly sexy and intelligent, but she does not carry the film with the requisite charisma. She failed to make me empathize with her character's plight, what with owning a stunning country property, being stunning, and having the choice of any man she wants. The three men are all cliches and I didn't care about them much either, since they didn't really come across as three dimensional human being. Much of the drama and conflict of the story is experienced through the writer's long suffering and naive wife, (Tamsin Greig) who is the only character that I cared about, and then only marginally, mostly due to Greig's memorable, often funny and vulnerable performance. There are two teens in love with the rock star, and so they make everyone's live miserable with their meddling, undermining behavior. They are fun, but their meddling is there to just provide convenient and paint by numbers plot complications, which involve, among other things, hacked and fake phone messages (rapidly becoming a tired movie cliche).

    The film has a macabre and dire ending (true to Hardy) that does not fit with the mostly farcical tone of the rest of the film. Sorry, worth a sleepy plane ride if you can't select the content, but there are so many other superior similar films (Mike Leigh's lighter fare, for example). I know that's not a very big thumbs up at all.
  • paulsandberg
    December 12, 2011
    paulsandberg
    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 ... read morean 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.
  • StarCrossedVoyager
    October 16, 2011
    StarCrossedVoyager
    I expected so much more from this. As the title assumes, it would be about Tamara, however it's more about farming that it is about her. The characters were childish and annoying and although there were some laughs it isn't something I'd watch again! The script was far too mundan... read moree in terms of dialogue and too episodic. Better as a tv series.
  • romy861
    August 6, 2011
    romy861
    Really quite enjoyed this. Nice chick flick to watch at home on a dull weekend! Although for me, Jessica Barden stole the show as teenage Jody, obsessed with the rock star! She was so funny and relatable, could see myself in her at that age (although not breaking into someones ... read morehouse and sending emails out. haha).
    There's a lot happening in this film - a lot of characters, and most seem to be having romantic issues. Some of the characters work better than others. Tamara herself would be one of the weaker characters, although Gemma Arterton plays her nicely. She just doesn't seem to have a strong sense of self, being a girl who has left the small town she grew up in to have a nose job, and returned as a hot girl. Although it is obvious early on who the right guy for her is, she still makes a few mistakes along the way, one of them worse than the other.
    There is also the married couple who run a retreat for authors. The husband who is a writer himself is a dog, for want of a better word! The ending I didn't see coming, but I guess it was one way to deal with this character who had no redeeming features at all. Some of the authors at the retreat are also quite interesting.
  • deano
    August 1, 2011
    deano
    Compared with Stephen Frear's best films - Tamara Drewe is fluff. But , now and again, there's nothing wrong with that. Gemma Arterton is slinky and superb as the modern minx who turns rural Dorset upside down. She's matched by Roger Allam, deliciously distasteful as a sel... read moref-justifying man of letters. What surprises most is how spiky this sex comedy becomes. No lusty deed goes unpunished in this malicious shot at morals.
    Adapted on the British's weekly comic strip serial (which was then re-published as a graphic novel) by Posy Simmonds.
  • SirPant
    July 8, 2011
    SirPant
    Tamara Drewe isn't the film I was expecting. I was pleasantly surprised by many elements but overall disappointed considering all the hype it received. First off, I've not read the Graphic novel, I love my comics but I can't say this was on my 'Must read' list and it still isn't.... read more Basically, Tamara Drewe the character (and in many ways Gemma Arterton the actor) are not the prominent or even the important elements of this film. It almost feels like a pointless character, one that has very little to do with the others and is certainly the least interesting. The, quite unfairly treated, supporting characters (and actors) are the real reasons to watch this film, two words; Tamsin Greig. Watch it for the wonderful Tamsin Greig alone. Roger Allam, Bill Camp and Dominic Cooper play their parts well - the young Jessica Barden is also brilliant and is definitely one to watch. The comedy turns black for the grand finale which is very welcome but unfortunately you have to sit through a pretty gentle comedy to get there. Definitely worth a watch though!
  • gor41
    April 17, 2011
    gor41
    Jolly romp but decends into ludicrous fantasy towards the end. One star for Jessica Barden who livens up proceedings no end and is clearly 'One to Watch'.
  • lewiskendell
    February 26, 2011
    lewiskendell
    "Why do I do these things? What am I doing with you?"

    Tamara Drewe is a twisty, soap-opera-ish, story about a woman who returns to the small town she used to come home, nose job in tow, and turns the local writing community upside down in the process.

    It's a nice role for Gemm... read morea Arterton, with a large supporting cast of Roger Allam, Bill Camp, Dominic Cooper, Luke Evans, Tamsin Greig, Jessica Barden, and others. The story sort of meanders between the various characters, and there's not much of a central theme, other than how Tamara is a bit lost in life and how that plays havoc on the small town she returns to.

    I'd describe it as occasionally amusing, instead of funny. Interesting enough to watch once, but you probably won't be in a rush to see it again.
  • shortcartoonist
    February 11, 2011
    shortcartoonist
    Some writers flesh realised characters into vessels of change. Some writers delve into the depths of meaning in society or relationships. Some writers create a mood distinct within their story. And some writers pen 'Tamara Drewe'. A mish-mash attempt of these traits, 'Tamara Drew... read moree' is a film that sets itself in a quaint plain, with wandering souls drifting whimsically. This changes when a catalyst from the past - a girl - reappears. She has blossomed, and so too does the quiet village.

    This is a fanciful film that leads nowhere. Tamara Drewe as a title character is flat and uncaring. She has little in the backbone of her life given to the audience and undergoes minimal change. She is portrayed as a woman renewed - and uses this second lease of confidence with little care for those close to her, but with a clear head of perceptiveness. Gemma Arterton's batting eyes and smulder only get this character so far, and when a film revolves around such a void character - little more can be done. The film attempts to turn this into a point of recovery and learning by its conclusion - but it is too far gone to sway the audience.

    Yet its writers try. At its core, the film is about the writing process and the necessity for inspiration. If there's one writing technique that Tamara Drewe grasps firmly - it is irony. It is ironical that a film about creativity remains vapid with a handful of thematic cliche's. Its notions of adultery, of catalysts for change, of the deceptions and worth in love, and of attention are dull and frustrating. The film attempts to use a running theme of lies as being a charge for story ideas - and thinks its slyly using this as a meta device for its own plot. It fails.

    Somehow though, the films production works vigorously to fight back for some pride. The rocky couple of Roger Allam and Tamsin Greig are the real meat of the story, and a supporting turn from Bill Camp makes for a trifecta that would have worked much better as a story on its own.

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Critic Reviews

Roger Moore
December 8, 2010
Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel

Whatever its pleasures, there's little joy and not much romp in this cluttered sex farce. Full Review

Tom Long
November 12, 2010
Tom Long, Detroit News

There's a whiff of desperation behind the comic romp Tamara Drewe that gives it some unexpected sting. Full Review

J. R. Jones
November 12, 2010
J. R. Jones, Chicago Reader

This screen adaptation by director Stephen Frears successfully re-creates the strip's pastoral tone and cheeky humor. Full Review

Carrie Rickey
November 4, 2010
Carrie Rickey, Philadelphia Inquirer

While no one would celebrate Tamara Drewe as a great movie, it is a reliable dispenser of visual and erotic pleasures. Full Review

Kate Taylor
October 29, 2010
Kate Taylor, Globe and Mail

You know where you're going in territory that's actually more Jane Austen than Hardy, but Frears makes the most of the many bumps and twists. Full Review

Peter Howell
October 28, 2010
Peter Howell, Toronto Star

Caught midway between literary genres, the film lacks the literary sheen of Hardy and the darker comic impulses of Simmonds. Full Review

Peter Rainer
October 22, 2010
Peter Rainer, Christian Science Monitor

Erotic comedies are often attempted but rarely realized. Tamara Drewe is proof that sexy and funny need not be mutually exclusive. Full Review

Michael O'Sullivan
October 22, 2010
Michael O'Sullivan, Washington Post

Tamara Drewe is one in a million. Full Review

Claudia Puig
October 21, 2010
Claudia Puig, USA Today

A bucolic romp set in a strikingly picturesque spot in England's Dorset County, it has its moments of charm. But the clever comedy it promises never really materializes. Full Review

Colin Covert
October 21, 2010
Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune

Go through your mental checklist of what you want in a romantic comedy-drama: novel plotting, characters to care about, witty dialogue, bull's-eye casting, nimble direction, green and pleasant locales... Full Review

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    • Tamara Drewe: Ben... which finger?
    • Ben Sergeant: Whichever one you like. This one's nice... stick it on this one.
    • Eustacia: Lesbian crime!
    • Tamara Drewe: It's not actually new, it's just smaller.
    • Nicholas Hardiment: The real secret about being a writer is learning how to lie.
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