TAMARA DREWE Review

What an unexpected little gem this was. I am beginning to become a serious Gemma Arterton fan. Although I didn't much like "Clash of the Titans", I did however think "Prince of Persia" was a little under-rated and I really enjoyed "The Disappearance of Alice Creed". She now comes out playing the title character in this comic strip adapted film that concerns itself with a quirky little town in England where everyone gets into each others business and things become much more entangled than they probably ever should. It is a fun little farce though, light and breezy as the beautiful countryside with which its director of photography relishes every free moment in.

As Ms. Drewe, we don't ever necessarily like Artertons character, but instead we wonder why she does the things she is doing. She has only returned to this small town to fix up her recently deceased mothers home so she can sell it. While there though it is nearly impossible for her to avoid falling in with old flames, or running in with old townsfolk who knew her as a completely different girl than the one she has returned as. Where the film succeeds in its character development and bringing several different plot strands together to form one coherent story is great and a real joy to watch unfold as the characters here really are the most enjoyable thing about the film. What I wasn't sure of the whole time though was the fuss around our title character. Sure she got a nose job and "grew up" since the last time anyone had seen her, but she isn't all THAT interesting of a person, instead she just seems to be the one who makes the worst decisions and attracts the most trouble. This is forgiveable though, she may not be interesting enough to deserve the film being named after her, but the other characters around her make this movie a fun one to get involved with.

The two scene stealer's here are the youngest of the cast, Jessica Barden especially relishes every scene she is in and enjoys being the cause of much of the mayhem that brings Drewe into the center of all the drama that begins to erupt after her return. Along with Charlotte Christie, the two create a great tone of what it is like to be young and bored, seemingly waiting for your life to start and doing whatever you can to pass the time and make things interesting until that point. Besides that, there is also interesting things going on with the ever rising Dominic Cooper and Luke Evans, both vying for Tamara's affection while this love triangle is disrupted by a particularly nasty performance by Roger Allam. It is really pitch perfect though and leaves an imprint for just how cheeky British comedy can be.

In the end, this is a fun comedy that deserves some attention from those here in the states. If not for more exposure to the wonderful world of British comedy at least for the enjoyment of an odd little flick where interesting people make quirky choices and it ends up being enjoyable enough to be happy you spent the time on it. You may not tell your friends about it or even necessarily think of it as that great of a movie, but you will like it. It has something undeniable about it.