So, who exactly is Tamara Drewe?

Fifteen minutes into the film and I was asking myself the same question as the titular protagonist had yet to make an appearance.

Instead, I’d been introduced to a village full of interesting characters including a smug and adulterous crime novelist, his overly-supportive wife and demanding mistress, their hunky farm hand, several eccentric writers staying at a countryside retreat and a couple of foul-mouthed local teenage girls… and I liked the look of their movie.

Ms Drewe turns up relatively late in the story as the local ugly duckling turned stunning and successful London columnist (courtesy of a phenomenal nose job!). Tamara is back to sell the family home and her return has a huge impact on the inhabitants of the small English village when she embarks on several love affairs.

Tamara Drewe is based on the graphic novel of the same name, which was inturn loosely based on Thomas Hardy’s Far From the Madding Crowd. Being unfamiliar with either, I was unsure what to expect of the film and was pleasantly surprised by the comical and salacious look at rural English life.

Gemma Arterton (Prince of Persia; Quantum of Solace) plays the eponymous Tamara well enough – most notably when she’s in seduction mode. But unfortunately, poor Tammy is the least engaging and empathetic character in her own film. She is infinitely more likeable in the brief flashbacks and recollections that the audience is teased with and functions more as a one-dimensional secondary character.

The really interesting characters are Tamara’s country neighbours and guests, played to perfection by a wonderful ensemble that includes Dominic Cooper (Mamma Mia!) as the Tamara’s indie rock fiancé, Roger Allam as the slimy, condescending crime novelist Nicholas Hardiment, Tamsin Greig as Nicholas’ long-suffering wife Beth, Bill Camp as a visiting US academic and Thomas Hardy expert and Jessica Barden and Charlotte Christie who almost steal the show as the foul-mouthed, bored local teens.

Perhaps because of these captivating supporting characters, the narrative was often unfocused and seemed to get lost at several points in the film making it feel overly long.

This lack-of-focus was compounded by the use of inconsistent and infrequent story-telling devices such as inner monologues from various characters and a couple of odd, out-of-place direct-to-camera conversations.

The cinematography was beautiful and showcased the rolling green hills of the English countryside in all their glory and those paying attention to the soundtrack will leave with a chuckle as ‘Jailbait Jody’ plays over the credits.

It’s almost clichéd to call a British comedy quaint and charming and darkly humourous, but even with its flaws and perhaps in spite of the title character, that’s exactly what Tamara Drewe is.