Tamara Drewe

Based on a graphic novel by Posy Simmonds, Tamara Drewe follows Gemma Arterton’s title character as she returns to her hometown to sell her late mother’s estate – with the film, for the most part, subsequently detailing the ongoing exploits of the small community’s various residents (including Luke Evans’ Andy, Tamsin Greig’s Beth, and Roger Allam’s Nicholas). Filmmaker Stephen Frears, working from a screenplay by Moira Buffini, has infused the early part of Tamara Drewe with a jaunty, lighthearted vibe that proves impossible to resist, with the affable atmosphere, which is reflected most keenly in the efforts of a uniformly charismatic cast, effectively (and initially) compensating for the decidedly lackadaisical nature of the movie’s execution. It’s only as the narrative adopts an increasingly episodic feel that one’s interest begins to wane, as it does become more and more difficult to work up any real enthusiasm for several of the film’s periphery subplots – with, in particular, the dull exploits of teenagers Jody (Jessica Barden) and Casey (Charlotte Christie) emblematic of everything that’s wrong with Tamara Drewe‘s latter half. There is, as such, little doubt that the film slowly but surely wears out its welcome, which is a shame, really, given the promising nature of the movie’s opening half hour.

** out of ****