Thursday 16 February 2012

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/

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