MovieChat Forums > Tamara Drewe (2010) Discussion > The Ending

The Ending

posted 14 years ago by clivy
19 replies | jump to latest

I wonder how everyone feels about the ending, because I thought it weakened the movie considerably.

When I heard that “Tamara Drewe” was going to be made into a film I was delighted. I thought overall the movie follows the original graphic novel closely.

However, the ending isn’t as faithful to Posy Simmonds. (Warning: major spoilers ahead, so if you haven't seen the movie or read the book, and don't want spoilers, stop reading now). The graphic novel concludes with two deaths. The first is Nicholas’. The novel shows Tamara expecting him to come to her house after he has his final row with Beth. Nicholas never apppears. The visiting writers at his farm find him in the field the next morning. Only later does the novel reveal that Glen had a fight with Nicholas before the cattle stampeded. Furthermore, Glen doesn’t kiss Beth in the novel: Nicholas and Glen fight over Glen revealing to Beth that Nicholas didn’t leave his previous lover for the sake of his marriage; she dumped him (Glen learns this when he overhears Nicholas making a begging phone call to his ex Nadia). The second death is Jody’s. In the novel Jody is found on the same morning dead in her bed, clutching a can of computer cleaner. The verdict of the coroner is that inhaling the cleaner stopped her heart.

Replacing Jody’s death with the death of Ben’s dog makes the film lighter. My husband thought that the producers might have changed the ending to avoid having a 18 rating and to avoid controverery over substance abuse. But it means that the film has less edge; also, the book powerfully indicates how much the boredom and tedium of life in the village for the local teenagers leads not just to mindless pranks and drinking but also tradegy.

I wish that the screenplay hadn’t ended so neatly with Beth finding solace with Glen and Ben forming a couple with with Jody, as the song played over the credits suggests. I couldn’t see why he would be interested in an underage stalker; it looked more like pure wish fullfillment for her.

It's a shame that the film has more of the tone of a light farce rather than indiciating the sorrow of modern country and celebrity life.

[–] emlcoburn 14 years ago

My only conclusion about the ending was that Frears and co. were playing to the audience they were aiming for. It is a bit slight and silly, but it sort of works when you view it as a whole. The book is more detailed of course, but the whole not-as-good-as-the-book argument (to me) has always been an invalid comparison, as the two mediums are simply completely different. Frears has made a likeable, fluffy bit of entertainment, that has a bit more depth and character than most films in the rom-com category.

[–] kjewitt 14 years ago

By the time it got to the end I just wanted it to end. This was never a film story and everyone involved needs a good pants-down spanking.

No man will marry a bilakoro

[–] Tyler-A-Arse 13 years ago

By the time it got to the end I just wanted it to end. This was never a film story and everyone involved needs a good pants-down spanking.

I agree. It was long and boring. The only way I see it could've been interesting is if you were a fan of the comic. But as a movie, it really lacked an interesting story. All I saw was a girl who couldn't make up her mind who she wanted to have sex with.

[–] Desertman84 13 years ago

The movie became not so interesting in the end.
Nobody really cared about the ending but rather when the movie is going to end.

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[–] minifie-1 14 years ago

I don't think Ben copped off with Jody. She merely used him for the photo as she was the nearest person to console him over losing Boss. As a dog owner,though,I get peed off with films that kill dogs for laughs - A Fish Called Wanda, Keeping Mum,that episode of Peep Show,where a dog got run over and then barbecued. I wasn't familiar with the original and so i found the ending worked out nicely.

[–] hugh1971 14 years ago

I didn't think Boss was killed for laughs - he was killed (rightly) because he was out of control and worrying the cattle - it was to show how out of place Ben was in the country because it didn't occur to him how dangerous it was to let Boss run around freely.

[–] Val-El 13 years ago

Dog should have been killed. Was a direct cause of the murder of the writer (not undeservedly).

[–] eddie-83 13 years ago

Not the dog's fault, though.

[–] Schadenfunny 14 years ago

I pretty much agree with you, although I give it credit for at least trying to complicate the Glen/Beth ending. It was really slight and subtle, but I felt like that shot of the magazine article with Nicholas' quote about writers being liars and thieves was telling.

That said I still really enjoyed this for the bit of fluff that it was.

[–] lubin-freddy 14 years ago

I agree with the OP, but not with the poster who wrote about Frears playing to the audience. Not every change of a source material's ending shows lack of integrity.

You know you should surrender
But you can't let it go...

[–] diegogue 14 years ago

I agree with you

Besides, the characters in the graphic novel have terrific designs, every one of them (specially Tamara), I think the cast in the movie was wrong

all the stories must be told

[–] Wallsy10 14 years ago

Glad Jodie disn't die as per book, but 2nd song over credits definitely implied that Ben and Jodie got together - choice quotes from the lyrics

jodie was jail bait,

she's the one

i'll wait for her

[–] LarissaXX 13 years ago

jodie was jail bait,

she's the one

i'll wait for her

Well, at least that suggests he was decent enough waiting for her to be older.

[–] Abbalish 11 years ago

Again i think this just implies he wrote a song about her, as she was a fan, i doubt they 'hooked up'

#RIPCoryMonteith

[–] supersensational 13 years ago

I thought a better ending would have been everyone in the story getting trampled by the cows, roll credits. Except maybe Beth, but then that would be horrible for the only decent person in the film to be left with a pile of bodies.

Seriously, it's impossible to look back fondly on a movie filled with such entirely despicable people!

[–] queenshan 13 years ago

Beth was unlikeable too. Her horrible comments about Tamara in the very beginning...

[–] KindredSouls 13 years ago

Andy wasn't despicable. The only rotten thing we learn he did was pre-movie, he says he dumped Tamara.
I didn't really think Glenn was despicable either, but he should have been honest with the police and Beth about what happened.

[–] odalo92 13 years ago

I saw it yesterday.(the film, never even heared about the comic.)
Liked it, but kinda feel the ending was more of a middel than a ending, felt like the begining was fine then the middel came and it poof suddenly ended I feel the ending was a bit sudden really.(yes said that a few times now)
+ I agree with someone else, it was nice that it wasent very predictable.( I kinda felt that she would end up with the farmer from the fact that was in the opening scene, but then the drummer came in and the writer so you kinda dident know for a while who she would end up with.)
also love the fact that in contrast to most romantic movies tamara wasent a perfect girl( she dident make perfect desisions, live a glamorous life and she hadent been beautiful all her life, in my view most romantic movies has heroines with most things together besides a low confidense.)
but yea, it wasent too dark to be called a dark comedy but it wasent very light either, too much in the middel.

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[–] Abbalish 11 years ago

I don't think it was indicated anywhere that Ben started a relationship with Jody! She was a child anyway.

#RIPCoryMonteith