TIFF Review: TAMARA DREWE

Stephen Frears latest film TAMARA DREWE is an interesting morsel indeed. It is full of moments that seem contrived and overplayed, but it is also full of moments of profound truth and tenderness. The question audiences will need to ask themselves, is whether the good times make the bad times worth it - and for my money they did.

TAMARA DREWE takes place at a writers' retreat. The retreat is a farm run by noted author Nicholas Hardiment and his supportive wife Beth. They open up their farm to writers looking to find their voice. One afternoon, a prodigal daughter returns to the area in the form of Tamara Drewe (Gemma Arteton). Drewe used to live at the estate next door but left the rural life for London long ago. She has a way of affecting the men around her to act very stupid, so her return does a great job of upsetting the order of things.

Arteton plays Drewe in a very spritely manner. In flashback, we see that she grew up having all the wiles to drive boys crazy, but none of the maurity to understand the consequences. Now some years later, she has returned, still wiley and even more confident. Still no sign of maturity though.

The movie takes an honest tact when looking at true love and the deceits that can mar it. There were characters I could have given a movie all their own - like Beth, Andy the farmhand, and Glen the author who comes for the retreat. Likewise, I could have done without the teenaged nymphs who spur on a lot of the troubles these characters inspire; but in the end they are the driving force behind this tale taking it to its shocking (and I do mean shocking conclusion).

All told, I need to ruminate a little longer on TAMARA DREWE. The film is very sweet, though a bit faulty. However, it features one whopper of an ending that very well could forgive every fault hat led us there. It might not make any Best-Of lists, but it was indeed an entertaining tale.

TAMARA DREWE opens in theatres on October 8th