Tamara Drewe (film)

Tamara Drewe

UK theatrical release poster
Directed by Stephen Frears
Produced by Alison Owen
Tracey Seaward
Paul Trijbits
Screenplay by Moira Buffini
Based on Tamara Drewe
by Posy Simmonds
Starring
Music by Alexandre Desplat
Cinematography Ben Davis
Edited by Mick Audsley
Production
company
Ruby Films
BBC Films
WestEnd Films
Distributed by Diaphana Films (France)
Momentum Pictures (UK)
Sony Pictures Classics (US)
Release dates
  • 18 May 2010 (2010-05-18) (Cannes)
  • 20 September 2010 (2010-09-20) (United Kingdom)
Running time
 111 minutes
Country United Kingdom
Language English
Budget £6-8 million[1]
Box office US$11,910,695[2]

Tamara Drewe is a 2010 comedy feature film directed by Stephen Frears.

The screenplay was written by Moira Buffini, based on the newspaper comic strip of the same name (which was then re-published as a graphic novel) written by Posy Simmonds. The comic strip which serves as source material was a modern reworking of Thomas Hardy's nineteenth century novel Far from the Madding Crowd.

The film premiered at the 2010 Cannes Film Festival in May and was released nationwide in France on 14 July 2010.[3][4] Momentum Pictures released the film in the United Kingdom on 10 September 2010.[5]

Plot

Set in Ewedown, a fictitious village in Dorset, England. Tamara Drewe, a young and attractive journalist, returns home with the intention of selling her now-deceased mother's house which she has inherited, and in which she grew up. Locals are amazed at the improvement in her appearance after she had a rhinoplasty while away. Andy had been interested in her when she was a girl, and when he sees her now it is clear he is attracted to her.

Across the valley is a neighbour's home where authors retreat to work on their stories. The owner, Nicholas, is a prolific crime novelist and a serial philanderer, while his wife Beth provides food, lodging, and encouragement for her patrons. At one point Nicholas embarks on an affair with Tamara, after she finishes with rock-band drummer Ben. Andy has been asked by Tamara to work on the house so she can sell it, and he becomes aware of the affairs, as do two local teenage schoolgirls (Jody and Casey) who cause some havoc due to their childish jealousy of Tamara.

Jody is infatuated with Ben, and when he leaves Ewedown after Tamara's affair, she uses her wiles to lure him back. Eventually her deceit is discovered and she receives a hard dose of reality. In a strange turn of events, Nicholas is killed somewhat accidentally by stampeding cows. Beth's friend (Glen), a Thomas Hardy scholar who had become infatuated with her over the months he spent there, reveals his love for her despite feeling guilty about Nicholas' demise, and she easily persuades him to remain at the retreat with her. By this time the true love of Andy and Tamara brings them together. Tamara then decides to stay in Ewedown after all.

Cast

Premiere

The premiere was held on 6 September 2010 at the Odeon Leicester Square. Most of the cast and crew were in attendance as well as Jack Gregson, Lily Allen and Stephen Fry. The public premiere was also held on 6 September 2010 at the National Film Theatre. Most of the cast were in attendance as well as director Stephen Frears, screenwriter Moira Buffini, and book author Posy Simmonds. The film's showing received long applause and was followed by questions to the stars from the audience.

Reception

Box office

The film grossed $560,391 at the North American box office, and a further $11,350,304 internationally, for a worldwide total of $11,910,695.[2]

Critical response

The film received generally positive reviews from critics. Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reports that 66% out of 121 critics gave the film a positive review, with a rating average of 6.3/10.[6] Metacritic gave it a score of 64/100 based on reviews from 28 critics, indicating 'generally favourable reviews'.[7]

Empire gave four stars out of five stating the film was "Very intelligently funny, with stellar performances."[8] Lisa Mullen wrote in Sight & Sound in September 2010:

“ Turning graphic novels into films can be a tricky business...an impressively limpid, compressed and visually textured piece... here the romantic themes—concerning sensible spouse choice... are undercut by a bawdy appreciation of chaos, mischief and mayhem... Beth Hardiment played with great subtlety and a kind of concentrated stillness by Tamsin Greig... ”

References

  1. ↑ "MediaEdu - Media Studies Resources". Retrieved 17 April 2015.
  2. 1 2 "Tamara Drewe (2010)". Box Office Mojo. IMDB. Retrieved 2010-09-20.
  3. ↑ Higgins, Charlotte (17 May 2010). "Tamara Drewe comic strip charms Cannes in film form". guardian.co.uk (Guardian News & Media). Retrieved on 31 May 2010.
  4. ↑ Tamara Drewe. premiere.fr. Retrieved 26 August 2010.
  5. ↑ Bamigboye, Baz (17 July 2009). "Gemma Arterton is wanted by The Queen director to get crowd Madding in sexy new role". Daily Mail (Associated Newspapers).
  6. ↑ Tamara Drewe (2010). Rotten Tomatoes. Flixter. Retrieved 15 June 2016.
  7. ↑ "Tamara Drewe Reviews". Metacritic. 2010-10-22. Retrieved 2016-06-21.
  8. ↑ "Empire's Tamara Drewe Movie Review". Empireonline.com. Retrieved 2011-04-20.

External links

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