Tamara Drewe

I first saw the trailer of Tamara Drewe in 2010 on my visit down under and was so hoping that it would release before I left the country. But it wasn’t to be so. Therefore, you can imagine my surprise (actually glee) when I saw this in the discounted lot @ JB Hi-fi on my trip this time around. It was the only DVD that I picked up on my recent visit because I had consciously decided not to pick up any movies till I had finished watching all of them in my not so small collection. But an exception had to be made on this one.

Stephen Frears is another one of those directors who has an impressive CV with The Queen and Dangerous Liaisons. I have reviewed one of his movies in the past which was by the name of High Fidelity – a movie with a lot of dark British humour. Tamara Drewe is not dark at all but is British alright. But Frears seems to have not directed this with the commitment that was seen in his earlier successes. The movie is loosely held together with the lead female character who goes by the name of Tamara Drewe (Gemma Arterton) and the happenings around her which have a rather comic tinge about them – a sexually desperate comic tinge I must say.

Tamara was the local ugly duckling in the village as she was growing up. Thanks to her conspicuously large nose. Her boyfriend at that time – yes she was ugly but had a boyfriend – Andy Cobb (Luke Evans) dumps her for nasal reasons. She is the object of pretty much everyone’s ridicule. No one is obviously willing to look beyond her nose – and the extremely graphic way in which it has been blown beyond proportion would help you understand why. It is a miracle that the camera can actually show her face with that unreal nose in the picture. Basically she is not the object of anyone’s envy.

She leaves the village after school to graduate in journalism and is now writing. She makes enough for a nose job and comes back to the village to close out some property related issues. The difference being – she now looks HOT!!!! Suddenly, the bunch of people who would look the other way have their tongues hanging down to the floor. And obviously she cares a damn and continues to walk around the village half naked and making people even more jealous and the men hot in their pants.

A very watchable movie this one. Tamara Drewe also has some decent performances from the likes of a Dominic Cooper (turns out he could act even before The Devil’s Double). Reasonably edited. Solid British Comedy screenplay with a lot of underplayed humour. Worth spending some time on. But not as good as Frears’ previous attempts. 6 on 10.

Watch the trailer at http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi2479556121/

Hanna

If I am not wrong, this is the first time that acclaimed director Joe Wright has made a departure from his forte of movies under the genre “Drama” and moved to “Espionage”. But then again, Hanna is actually one of the slowest action movies that I have seen in a long time. So it maybe correct to classify it as just Drama. In typical Joe Wright fashion (Atonement, Soloist, Pride & Prejudice), the movie pays painful attention to detail and consistency. It uses the right camera angles and the right cuts to create the maximum possible impact that Wright can deliver. Unfortunately, Wright is probably not cut out to deliver action / espionage movies the way a Tony Scott (Spy Game) or a Stephen Gaghan (Syrianna) can manage. Mind you I am at no point discounting Joe Wright’s capabilities as a director. He has been up there with his movies to date. But Hanna just didn’t cut enough ice with this amateur critic. At times, it just drifted too much for my comfort. Maybe it was the exceptional slowness that got to me.

Hanna is a story of revenge. Erik Heller (Eric Bana) is a CIA operative who has defected a few years back – over a decade ago. He is betrayed / cheated by his handler Marissa Wiegler (Cate Blanchett). But if u view Marissa’s actions through the lens of the CIA, she was entrusted with a job and she got it done like any effective agent would have – ruthlessly. Nevertheless, Heller holds a grudge against Marissa not just because she tried to kill him but in the bargain also killed Eric’s wife. Heller escapes with his daughter Hanna (Saoirse Ronan) and over the years equips her with all that he has learnt during his years as an operative to be a vicious assassin. All with a single minded intent of killing Wiegler. All of this, in the jungles of Finland – how exotic I say. 17 years from Hanna’s birth, she tells her father that she is “ready” and switches on a tracker which gets the CIA to her (and not the other way round) – the mission begins.

I must say, I was a tad disappointed with Hanna – yet another case of the cover being better than the book… or in this case the trailer being far superior to the movie. The performances from all 3 lead actors were extremely good. Saoirse (pronounced SEER sha – never hurts to repeat it as often) Ronan proves yet again that she has an extremely bright future in Hollywood. I must watch The Lovely Bones sooner than later to figure out how she was in that one. But in 3 movies – Atonement, The Way Back and now Hanna – she has been very good to say the least. Cate Blanchett is and will be one of THE most versatile actresses to hit the screen. Her negative role as Wiegler was exceptional but a little below par on the Blanchett scale. Eric Bana was ice cold as always. Overall, Hanna survives more due to the performances and not as much due to the narration. I give it a 6 on 10. Worth a dekko positively but be prepared for a slow movie with some very strong moments.

Watch the trailer at http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi984063257/