Tamara Drewe

Stephen Frears directs this comedy drama about an ugly duckling followed by a handful of suitors after maturing into a sexy swan. Tamara Drewe (Gemma Arterton), born and raised in Ewedown, a quiet community on the outskirts of London dominated by a writer's colony run by Nicholas Hardiment (Roger Allam), a best-selling novelist who specializes in crime fiction, and his wife Beth (Tamsin Greig). When Tamara left Ewedown, she was a plain and awkward teenager, but when she returns home for the first time in years, the locals are surprised to discover that time (and a nose job) have turned her into an attractive and alluring woman, and she's gained a share of money and fame thanks to a successful newspaper column. Returning to refurbish the home of her recently deceased mother, Tamara soon finds herself pursued by three men from her past - Andy Cobb (Luke Evans), her former boyfriend; Ben Sergeant (Dominic Cooper), the swaggering drummer with a local indie rock band flirting with larger success; and Nicholas (Roger Allam), who is chronically unfaithful to his wife and sees an opportunity with the neighbourhood girl who was infatuated with him in her teens.

TAMARA DREW, adapted from the graphic novel of the same name by Posy Simmonds, makes for a charming and engaging movie and another successful production by screen legend Stephen Frears.