Submarine
Directed by: Richard Ayoade
Written by: Richard Ayoade (screenplay), Joe Dunthorne (novel)
Starring: Craig Roberts, Yasmin Paige, Sally Hawkins, Noah Taylor, Paddy Considine

Let’s get one thing straight right off the bat: Submarine is not Rushmore. After all the comparisons I’ve heard drawn between these two films, I can certainly see some superficial similarities, and yet I’m happy to report that director Richard Ayoade’s voice is distinctly his own. Both films are tales of teenage love involving boarding school misfits who are sometimes comically wise beyond their years. And yes, Ayoade also has an affinity for Futura and the French New Wave. Ultimately, however, this is a much darker film, one that eventually sheds its quirkiness for raw emotion. While it may be too angsty for some, it does ring true on a certain level and reminds us of the sting of youthful regret.

Craig Roberts plays Oliver Tate, a gloomy yet slightly arrogant fifteen-year-old who doesn’t have a lot of friends. He has a crush on Jordana (Yasmin Paige), a rebellious, cigarette-smoking girl who likes to bully other kids at school. Oliver tries to impress her by making fun of an overweight classmate, and although he feels guilty afterward, it ends up winning Jordana’s approval. The two begin a rather unorthodox relationship, and although Jordana continues to play hard to get, Oliver is determined to lose his virginity. As time goes on, however, his primary concern shifts to preventing his parents’ marriage from deteriorating — even if he is forced to take matters into his own hands.

The first half-hour of Submarine is definitely the most flashy and seems a little too intent on being film school cool. However, even in some of its most pretentious moments (ie. Oliver
recommending Catcher in the Rye and Nietzsche or imagining the Super 8 film version of his life), the movie has a unique charm and a playfulness that keeps you smiling rather than rolling your eyes. The film’s most funny moments do not necessarily emerge from Oliver’s mock sophistication or Paddy Considine’s mullet, but rather some of the more subtle and unexpected bits.

Personally, I could have done without all the self-aware narration, which is definitely getting to feel a bit stale in these kinds of movies, but many of the visuals are quite striking and more than make up for any complaints I might have about spending so much time inside Oliver’s head. For all of its stylistic bluster, the movie has an effortless feel to it, which is all the more impressive when you consider that it is Richard Ayoade’s first feature film.

The love story between Oliver and Jordana alternates between sweet and cynical, and while Craig Roberts and Yasmin Paige are great in their respective roles, it is the subplot involving Oliver’s parents that truly gives this movie its dramatic weight. Initially it seems amusing as Oliver plays detective, sneaking around trying to catch his mother cheating on his father, but this soon gives way to sadness not only in their stagnant love life but also in Oliver’s obsession with keeping their marriage intact.

Sally Hawkins has proven before that she is able to draw empathy with comedic performances, and she does so here to great effect as Oliver’s stoic mother Jill. Noah Taylor and Paddy Considine appear initially to play caricatures (Taylor is Oliver’s bearded and boring marine biologist father while Considine is Jill’s hot shot ex-boyfriend, a motivational speaker / new age mystic), but they are able to humanize their problems and make us care about their mid-life crisis. It facilitates a touching end to what could have been just another offbeat teen romance.

Richard Ayoade is probably best known for playing Moss on the British sitcom The I.T. Crowd, but from the film he has assembled here, it is pretty clear that he has a lot more up his sleeve. He is also not afraid to wear his influences on said sleeve, yet in doing so he does not cheapen the end product. So although
Submarine sets itself apart from Rushmore, that doesn’t mean Wes Anderson fans won’t get a kick out of it too. It’s definitely one of the strongest directorial debuts I’ve seen in quite a while, and comes highly recommended.

Note: Extras on the DVD include nine extended and deleted scenes plus a 10 minute behind the scenes featurette, but unfortunately no audio commentary track (which is odd, considering the U.K. release had one). — Sean

SCORE: