ThiefHott Too much of everything

Dorathen Better Late Then Never

Baseshment I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

Erica Derrick By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

miss_lady_ice-853-608700 The current IMDb rating is harsh, and inaccurate. Whilst the film might be messy in structure or focus, it always remains entertaining and even emotional.The graphic novel that this film is adapted from is a modernisation/ comic variation of Thomas Hardy's classic novel, Far From The Madding Crowd, and for fans of the novel, it's particularly entertaining to see how they took elements of the novel and transposed them to the modern day. In this film, the beautiful cosmetically-enhanced Tamara Drewe (Gemma Arterton) returns to her home town, where she was the ugly duckling. She becomes torn between farmer Andy (Luke Evans), whom she had a fling with in her teens, and rock star Ben (Dominic Cooper). Andy is of course the equivalent of sturdy farmer Gabriel Oak and Ben is the equivalent of dashing Seargeant Troy. The updating works quite well, particularly in the case of Ben. Both Andy and Ben are believable caricatures- remember, this is a comic version of FFTMC. Wessex becomes a small rural town called Ewedown, where nothing happens and the kids are bored out of their mind.Readers of the novel will wonder where William Boldwood, the spare part in what is really a love triangle, is. This is where the film departs from the novel so those of you who haven't read the novel can breathe a sigh of relief and those who have read it can tentatively read on. The spare part in this film's love triangle is Nicholas Hardiment (Roger Allam), a paunchy middle-aged crime novelist and serial cheat. He and his wife Beth (Tamsin Grieg) run a writer's retreat, which provides a good chance for satirical comedy, though it seems to belong in another film. Hardiment is based more on Thomas Hardy than William Boldwood, and so we get many allusions to Hardy, particularly from American academic Greg (Bill Camp), who pines for Hardiment's wife.Thought that that's a lot of characters? Well, you get even more: two interfering schoolgirls who meddle in Tamara's love life. The pivotal Valentine in the novel is now an email sent to Andy, Ben and Hardiment.Taken all that in? Here's my opinion then. Despite the apparent clutter, this is actually a lightly funny film, and in some parts very moving. People have criticised Gemma Arterton for being too 2D but I think she convincingly portrays a vain beauty who enjoys her power over men. Tamara is an object, rather than a subject. The most interesting characters are Hardiment (played to slimy perfection by Roger Allam), Beth (a sympathetic portrayal by Tamsin Grieg) and Greg (a tragicomic performance from Bill Camp). The trailer leads you to think that the film is all about the young people, whereas much of the enjoyment lies in the Hardiments' disintegrating marriage. The schoolgirls provide humour but they're not entirely necessary.All in all, this is a fine film, of particular interest to Hardy fans. It's a much better modernisation than Trishna, that's for sure.

oz46 This is pure escapism and the whole cast clearly enjoyed themselves immensely... OK so it's full of stereotypes, says nothing remotely profound about the human condition and the plot is distinctly predictable, but I was left with a smile on my face and a happy feeling at the end when it all turned out OK.Gemma Arterton is always worth a watch and its good to see Tamsin Greig getting a decent part as the downtrodden and long suffering wife. To be honest the excellent ensemble cast never put a foot wrong and the uncredited English countryside with its contradiction of beauty and rural dullness makes a fine back-drop. I never read the Posy Simmonds originals so I care not a jot whether it is true to the serial or not.... this is a fine and entertaining way to spend an evening.The two schoolgirls are terrific and really steal the show....Shame about the dog though......

valleyjohn You don't see many films like this any more. This film has a very old fashioned feel about it . Tamara Drew is a delightful movie about people , personalities and relationships and i really liked it.What more could you want in a woman. Tamara Drew is young rich and beautiful to boot ( and she's a Charlton Supporter ) well Gemma Arterton is! . The problem is she has all the men lusting after her and Tamara is not so great with her choices of fella's.This is a very well acted movie. Arteton ans Bill Camp stand out and It looks great to. It has the feel of a stage play but it does work well on the big screen too.Well worth a watch.

CountZero313 The idyllic monotony of a Dorset village is disrupted by the return of Tamara, sporting a re-modelled nose, but unreformed distaste for her home town. Her presence revives long-buried passions for handyman Andy, and minted author of "airport fodder" Nicholas, as well as sparking new intrigue for various other inhabitants of the village, including a blocked American writer, and two bored schoolgirls.So who is the film about? Everybody and nobody: don't be mislead by the title into thinking that Tamara will drive the narrative. She is more 'done to' than 'doing', and that is one of the film's main failings - quite why anyone is doing what they are doing remains a mystery, most of all Tamara. She resists the obvious attraction to Andy in favour of a soiled, sneering, effete drummer, and then tops that in the disgust stakes by shacking up with the repugnant chinny Nicholas. The lack of character development means this fails to function as a drama, and it was not till after the film was over and I took a look at the DVD case that I realised they are pushing this as a 'comedy.' I didn't laugh once.The acting is fairly good and Dorset looks nice. The drummer, two schoolgirls, Nicholas and weekend crime novelists are annoying. Andy and Tamara lack depth and never change. Wife Beth and the American writer have some intrigue to them, but their particular romantic tale gets lost in the rest of the twee village rambunctiousness. This story might function well as a village hall amateur dramatic production, but it isn't cinematic. A surprising mis-fire from Frears.