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Stephen Frears to Direct Tamara Drewe Starring Gemma Arterton

by Brandon Lee Tenney
September 2, 2009

British director Stephen Frears, who's directed a couple of my favorite films like High Fidelity and Dirty Pretty Things, has signed on to bring the live-action adaptation of Posy Simmonds' lauded graphic novel Tamara Drewe to the big screen, according to Variety. Posy Simmonds, a long time cartoonist for the UK's Guardian, first published the comic strips in the newspaper, then collected them into graphic novel form that is, itself, a modern reimagining of Thomas Hardy's classic novel Far From the Madding Crowd. The titular character is to be played by Gemma Arterton, who you'll recognize from Quantum of Solace.

The story follows Tamara, a sexy, post-plastic surgery beauty, who returns to her small, British village and stirs up dark passions among the otherwise frumpy locals. Leaving local men in her destructive wake, Tamara is used to lampoon the failings of contemporary feminism in Britain and satirizing contemporary literary life. Known most for its complex female characters, this should prove to be a very unique film indeed. Tamara Drewe is set to start shooting in the UK on September 21st, with funding from the UK Film Council. "I've loved Posy Simmonds' work for a long time," Frears said. This is one film to look forward to.