Tamara Drewe (PG)

When TAMARA DREWEraces back to the sleepyvillage of her teenageyears the place is rocked toits core.The lead character,played by Bond stunnerGemma Arterton, is a high-flyingjournalist who finds herself leaving thecity for rural Dorset following the deathof her mother and whilst renovating thechocolate box cottage she inherited sheattracts drama and sensuality to thesleepy village.Her steamy links with rock stardrummer Ben, played by DominicCooper, feed the most humorous partsof the plot as two teenage girls getsucked in to the web of desire throughan obsessive crush on Ben. Their anticsand naive behaviour are hilariouslyrealistic and I found myself identifyingwith their teenage dreams and smalltownboredom.Tamsin Greig plays a subdued, doormat wife of a famous author whoselife unravels at the hands of TamaraDrewe. Being more used to seeingGreig in comedy roles I have to admitshe lacked that spark of eccentricity sheusually exudes and was a much softer,but still likeable, character. Artertonsuccessfully portrays Tamara as aseductive, confident career woman witha vulnerable, needy side that influencesher – often wrong – decisions. This isnot your typical slushy romantic movieand the outcomes are far from perfect,but I have to admit I felt it was a littlewish washy at times, as though it was agritty story that had been put throughthe wash a few times to clean it up.It’s a pleasant movie, but hard to getattached to any of the characters.