Tamara Drewe Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		2.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.5
Overall		3.0

Tamara Drewe Blu-ray Movie Review

Shallow.

Reviewed by Martin Liebman February 7, 2011

Changing my face is the best thing I ever did.

Is the best writing built on falsehoods and fabrications, or is it grounded in some truth, whether adherent-to or loosely-based? That's the crux of a brief debate as heard in Tamara Drewe, but one can easily see it as the center of the movie, if there is one beyond the painfully superficial façade. A film focusing on the people occupying the beds and desks of an idyllic writers's retreat and the girl who comes into their lives and, for better or for worse, changes them drastically, Tamara Drewe is a whacky British Comedy/Drama that embraces both fiction and fact and pens a tall tale made entirely of the bits and pieces that construct real life. The film is a wild romp of sex but no drugs yet quite a bit of Rock 'N' Roll as characters maneuver to find happiness not in the cards they've been dealt but in the fictional alterations they slyly build into their lives to manipulate their would-be partners, dream dates, and old flames into their beds but not straight into their hearts. It's a charming but meaningless movie that doesn't really do anything or go anywhere, but there's really nothing wrong with that so long as the audience finds itself attracted to the characters. Tamara Drewe tries really hard to build up a lovable character roster, but falls short, no thanks to a breezy but overly involved script that's at times witty and at others simply trying too hard to be cute. Ultimately, the film fails to find much of an emotional center.

What is love? Baby don't hurt me...

A small and idyllic English town is home to a retreat for writers that promises a good, fresh place to write and a warm bed for those chilly English nights. Meals are communal-style, but there's no requirement to interact with staff and fellow guess. Not that there's anyone there who would turn away from good social interaction and, who knows, get to know the other writers a little better than their fronts and books suggest. Nicholas (Roger Allam) is a writer but he's not paying to stay; he's married to the proprietor Beth (Tamsin Greig) who's about to find out that her husband has been unfaithful, causing a scene in front of a table full of guests who are more interested in gossip and hearing the fight play out than they are actually finishing their meal and getting back to work. Enter Tamara Drewe (Gemma Arterton), a sultry young temptress who's curvy in all the right places and flat where she needs to be; her nose, in particular, has recently undergone renovation to remove an ugly hump. The men gawk and the women groan as she flaunts around in a tank top and short shorts. Groundskeeper Andy (Luke Evans), with whom the pre-rhinoplasty Tamara has a history, likes what he sees, but he loses out to a rock band drummer named Ben (Dominic Cooper) who is also the apple of young local Jody's (Jessica Barden) eye. With passion in the air and scheming rampant, the quiet writers's getaway is about to get a lot more steamy.

Tamara Drewe is at least smartly-conceived even if it does struggle to find an identity beyond the superficial. The film proves immediately engaging as a peculiar character roster is introduced, most of them aspiring or already successful writers hard at work on their latest would-be masterpieces of genres and styles as varied as the personalities scattered throughout the film. The infatuation with Tamara Drewe ends there, even if it's not immediately evident. The implication is that these are creative people, and it's that expectation for their greater ability to plot and plan and set in motion a series of events with a prepared plan of action that sets up the general plot line which whittles down to sex, infatuation, and infidelity, all of which the characters have or scheme to get it. There's a bit more to Tamara Drewe than that, namely the comical and dramatic elements that stem from the arrival of a pretty little girl with a new nose and a flirtatious smile. Unfortunately, the resultant escapades and run-ins with all sorts of interpersonal drama don't really amount to all that much seeing as that the characters aren't well-developed outside of that implied creativity or new nose and short shorts and who seem to exist only to set up one sexual or dramatic quagmire after another. It's not hard to find the crux of the story, but it is difficult to take it seriously. It's a modern-day masquerade where the characters want to be someone else or find a new partner, all of them swirling around, trying on different masks, and hoping to get to where they want to be before the music stops playing or, worse yet, the audience stops caring.

Indeed, Tamara Drewe is all about the superficial. Two girls drool over a rock star knowing nothing about him but what he looks like in a well-prepared, probably airbrushed photograph and a glamorizing article in a magazine that might shed light on a man but that likely doesn't penetrate deep down to find out who he really is behind the eyeliner, hair gel, and scruffy 72-hour shadow. The Tamara character, too, is all about how she looks and how she's perceived on the outside. That she had a nose job seems only to reinforce the point that the movie is only concerned about the external, and rarely does the film or its characters seem to care about what's on the inside, lest they're inside her pants. When it tries to prove otherwise, the audience isn't going to buy it. The film also wastes what would have been a better opportunity for snappier dialogue and more complex characters along the bloc of writers who appear in the film. Unfortunately, the screenplay whittles them all down to uninteresting placeholders who see no shortage of drama but who ultimately fail to grow from their experiences. Tamara Drewe could have been a big mosh pit of human interaction, sexuality, creativity, and self-exploration, but it's instead just a fluff piece that wants to be funny but usually only succeeds at serving as an example of a blown opportunity in the midst of an intriguing setup. Gemma Arterton does have a few fleeting moments of shining brilliance, but she's limited by a script that emphasizes her body rather than her mind, which is what the whole of Tamara Drewe really boils down to.

Tamara Drewe Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Sony once again delivers a handsome, high-quality 1080p transfer, this time for Tamara Drewe. This one offers a crisp, clean source that's covered in a light coating of grain that serves to accentuate not only a handsome film-like texture but bring out all of the wonderful detailing scattered throughout the movie. Whether the intricacies of the human face or the brick and stone textures scattered about the movie, viewers will be impressed to no end with the level of realistic texturing on display. Colors favor a natural flavor, though oftentimes appear slightly pale thanks to what seems like overcast outdoor locales; greens, for instance, aren't particularly bold, but it's clear that the film's shading is accurate for the lighting and locales. Blacks are good and flesh tones hover around natural. The image is sharp and free of any flagrant problems, through there's trace evidence of a few questionable color gradations in one or two dark scenes. Generally, through, this is a top-tier transfer from beginning to end.

Tamara Drewe Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Tamara Drewe features a crisp and satisfying listening experience. The film isn't one of great big sound effects, but Sony's DTS-HD MA 5.1 lossless soundtrack is a competent, well rounded, and satisfyingly clear listen that's a fine compliment to the strong visuals. Music is light and airy, flowing effortlessly around the soundstage, emanating primarily from the front but finding a slight back channel support. Heavier rock beats, heard during an outdoor rock concert chapter five, create a reasonable facsimile of a live experience; the music isn't precisely clear and there's a slight sloppiness to the heavier lows, but it replicates the expected sound of the music/environment combination quite well. Several sound effects and light ambience fill in a few gaps and add some space and spice to the track; whether light natural ambience or the blaring of an alarm as heard early in the film, the track manages to bring a nice balance to the proceedings and spruce up what is an otherwise talk-heavy feature. Dialogue is nicely centered, but flashback scenes offer somewhat more spacious, surreal words that spills over to the sides. There's nothing memorable about this track but it's highly efficient and capable of pulling off everything that's asked of it with ease.

Tamara Drewe Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Tamara Drewe's supplemental package consists of a commentary track, two featurettes, and the film's trailer.

• Audio Commentary: Actors Gemma Arterton and Luke Evans deliver a "director's commentary" even though they're not directors. That sets a tone for what will be a light and mostly generic track that consists primarily of fluff and background anecdotes. Listeners hoping for a technically-oriented commentary will be disappointed, but fans of the participating actors and the film will want to check it out.
• The Making of Tamara Drewe (1080p, 13:44): Cast and crew discuss the comic on which the film is based, the quality of the performances, the work of Director Stephen Frears, the film's look and photography, and the complexities of the characters.
• Reconstructing Tamara Drewe (1080p, 10:20): A glimpse at the process of converting the graphic novel to film with Director Stephen Frears and Actress Gemma Arterton.
• Tamara Drewe Theatrical Trailer (1080p, 2:10).
• Previews (1080p): Additional Sony titles.
• BD-Live.

Tamara Drewe Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Tamara Drewe is a fluff piece that's short on creativity and lacking in the character development needed to make a story like this really work. The film feels lazy even through some catchy dialogue and a generally easy-breezy tone, primarily because it's so one-dimensional and concerned not for who the characters really are but who they are "in the flesh" and what they want in the here and now. There's zero connection with the audience, no feeling that the movie has any real purpose, and the result is a picture that means well and is made well but never finds a footing to really make it matter. Entertaining? Yes, to an extent. Memorable? Not at all. Tamara Drewe comes exactly as expected of a Sony Blu-ray title. Strong video and audio alongside a decent assortment of extras wrap the package in pretty paper and a fancy bow, but quality technical specs aren't reason enough to give this one a shot when there are other, better movies that look just as good, if not even better. Worth a rental on a slow day.