Tamara Drewe (2010)

A young newspaper writer returns to her hometown in the English countryside, where her childhood home is being prepped for sale.

Director:

Stephen Frears

Writers:

Posy Simmonds (graphic novel), Moira Buffini (screenplay)

Stars:

Gemma Arterton, Luke Evans, Dominic Cooper

3 wins & 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Gemma Arterton	...	Tamara Drewe
Roger Allam	...	Nicholas Hardiment
Bill Camp	...	Glen McCreavy
Dominic Cooper	...	Ben Sergeant
Luke Evans	...	Andy Cobb
Tamsin Greig	...	Beth Hardiment
Jessica Barden	...	Jody Long
Charlotte Christie	...	Casey Shaw
James Naughtie	...	Interviewer
John Bett	...	Diggory
Josie Taylor	...	Zoe
Bronagh Gallagher	...	Eustacia
Pippa Haywood	...	Tess
Susan Wooldridge	...	Penny Upminster
Amanda Lawrence	...	Mary

Storyline

The Independent journalist Tamara Drewe returns to Dorset, Ewedown, to sell the Winnard Farm that belonged to her deceased mother. Her neighbor Beth Hardiment runs a writers retreat with her unfaithful and womanizer husband Nicholas Hardiment who is a successful writer of Inchcombe adventures and cheats on Beth every now and then with younger women. Tamara was the sweetheart of the handyman Andy Cobb, whose family owned the Winnard Farm but lost it to Tamara's family, and when she sees him, she rekindles her love for him. However, when Tamara travels to interview the unpleasant drummer of the Swipe band Ben Sergeant, he has just found that his girlfriend Fran is having an affair with the other musician Steven Culley and he breaks up with the band. Tamara and Ben have a love affair and Ben moves to Winnard. Meanwhile, Ben's teenager fan Jody Long and her best friend Casey Shaw who are bored in Ewedown feel happy with the presence of Ben in the village. When Ben proposes to Tamara, they...

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Plot Keywords:

scantily clad female | lust | hot pants | underwear | bare butt | 

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Taglines:

A comedy about sex, love and a nose job...

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language and some sexuality

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

10 September 2010 (UK)

Also Known As:

El regreso de Tamara Drewe

Filming Locations:

England, UK

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

£615,553 (United Kingdom), 12 September 2010, Limited Release

Opening Weekend USA:

$18,604, 10 October 2010, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$560,101, 13 March 2011

Company Credits

Production Co:

Ruby Films,BBC Films,Notting Hill Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

107 min 109 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The movie is based on a graphic novel by Posy Simmonds, which itself is based on a Thomas Hardy novel.

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Goofs

When the two schoolgirls enter Tamara's house using the key under the flowerpot, they leave it in the front door. Yet when Tamara returns to the house a short while later, she is seen getting her own keys out as she walks up the path, and entering the house with them, the first key seemingly gone.

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Quotes

Tess: Is that Tamara Drewe who writes the column in one of the Sundays?
Beth Hardiment: Used to. Writes for the Independent now. She spent weeks going on about her nose job. Smart way to pay for it I suppose.
Tess: Was her old one an awful conk?
Nicholas Hardiment: Yes.

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Alternate Versions

The UK version is edited to obtain a 15 rating, and these changes appear to have been incorporated into all release prints (aside from the French versions mentioned above). Two uses of the 'c' word were removed outright to avoid an 18 rating, leaving only one mouthed use of the word, which was obscured by a sound effect.

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Connections

Referenced in Maltin on Movies: The Best Films You Missed in 2010 (2010)

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Soundtracks

Jail-Bait Jody
Written by Benjamin Todd and Nathan Cooper
Performed by Dominic Cooper, Nathan Cooper, Benjamin Todd, Al Anderson and Dave Markee
Published by Copyright Control

User Reviews

Love and Scorn in the English Countryside

TAMARA DREWE already had a following from her appearance in the best selling graphic novel by the same name by Posy Simmonds, an so it was probably not too difficult for the talented Stephen Frears to direct a pitch perfect cast to bring the delightful story to the screen. Filled to the brim with excellent actors this strange little story has many levels of meaning, but the main story is very well served.

Tamara Drewe (Gemma Arterton) was historically a face to forget in the town of Ewedon, but she leaves for the city and plastic surgery and returns with a new nose and facelift that makes her as attractive as any lass in the town. She plays on the talents of married highly successful crime novelist Nicholas (Roger Allam) to polish her writing skills - the cost is an affair that leaves Nicholas ready to divorce his perfect wife (Tamsin Grieg). She also attracts the interest of her childhood solid friend Andy (Luke Evans) and the rather superficial and silly rock star Ben (Dominic Cooper) and eventually, with the running of interference by two loathsome little girls (Charlotte Christie and Jessica Barden), and it all turns out with many surprises! It is a dissection of relationships a la Thomas Hardy and Frears know how to make it all work very well.

It is always a pleasure to be in the company of fine British actors in a lovely English countryside setting and this is no exception. Everyone in the cast is excellent - and it continues to be a pleasure to watch the very talented Dominic Cooper grow in the challenging roles he assumes. There are many reasons to enjoy this film, and among them is the sheer craftsmanship of the British cinema.

Grady Harp