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Tamara Drewe at 2010 Cannes Film Festival
2010-09-16 09:45
Tamara Drewe (UK 2010) 109 minutes
Tamara Drewe, based on Thomas Hardy's novel 'Far from the Madding Crowd', was a strip cartoon by Posy Simmonds originally published in the Guardian. In 2009 it won her the Grand Prix de la Critique Bande Dessinée from the Association des Critiques et Journalistes, and now it's set to hit the big screen, with a world premiere out of competition at this year's Cannes Film Festival.
Set in an apparently idyllic English village, it tells the story of Tamara, a journalist who returns to the countryside after a long absence in order to take over her late mother’s property. In the interim she has undergone a transformation - a nose job and glamorous new wardrobe ensure that she is going to be the talk of the town.
At first her presence in the village doesn’t appear to affect the lives of good-natured, plain Beth Hardiman and her husband Nicholas - a previously successful writer of detective novels - who run a rural retreat for budding authors.
But their lives are turned upside down by the events which follow. As in the best Hardy plot-twists, it’s a letter (or in this case an e-mail sent by local teenager Jody, intent on winning Tamara’s rock-drummer boyfriend) which puts the cat among the pigeons. Copied in to the email, middle-aged Nicholas becomes convinced that Tamara has designs on him, an impression that will have dire consequences for all concerned.
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The great joy of the original graphic novel was the characterization of headstrong, disaffected teenagers, sex-starved intellectuals and local residents in a world which is constantly changing around them – a slice of rural village life teetering on the brink of chaos as Tamara breezes in and becomes the focus of desire and jealousy. Nothing in Nicholas’s failing Inspector Inchcombe series is going to live up to this real-life story of sex and suspense.
Stephen Frears, best known for his 2006 film The Queen, is responsible for the big-screen transfer, which sees English actress Gemma Arterton in the lead role. She first appeared as the head girl in the remake of St Trinians, and has most recently cemented her reputation as a glamour-puss in films such as Quantum of Solace, Clash of the Titans, and Prince of Persia.
Early stills from Tamara Drewe suggest that she has been well cast in this all-English movie - if nothing else the hotpants look is guaranteed to set pulses racing, both on and off this year's red carpet.
Alex Went