REVIEW: Submarine

Submarine (2010)

Director: Richard Ayoade

Writers: Richard Ayoade (screenplay) and Joe Dunthorne (novel)

Stars: Craig Roberts, Yasmin Paige, Sally Hawkins, Paddy Considine

Submarine has been called a ‘coming-of-age comedy-drama’ and I would understand if this description alone was your reason for avoiding this film. You would be justified in expecting the ‘comedy’ to be unfunny and the ‘drama’ unmoving. Teenagers are irritating, and they become dull adults; having recently transitioned out of adolescence myself, it is hardly something I want to relive cinematically. But ‘coming-of-age comedy-drama’ does not do Submarine any justice at all.

Unfortunately, there is no way to describe this quirky, quick, quaint film that captures its intelligence, richness or relentless humour. Indeed, even those vague terms can’t do it. Instead, I have chosen a clip:

It isn’t difficult to understand this if you’ve ever seen a ‘coming-of-age comedy-drama’ before – the protagonist (here, Oliver Tate, a 15 year-old from Swansea) is simultaneously trying to save his own first relationship and his parents’ marriage. So far, so conventional. However, as this clip shows, it is the idiosyncratic way Oliver goes about his mission that makes this film stand out.Oliver’s approach to love is calculated and pragmatic; he researches extensively (see the book he is reading at 0.23 is called Making Relationships Work) and his voice-overs outlines his tactics. Personally, I think relationships would be much easier if everybody behaved so rationally and reasonably, but his methods clash with the feelings of his girlfriend and his parents. The letter is a perfect example of this – logically, it is fail-safe, but in the emotional reality of relationships, it just doesn’t work.

Even when Oliver is impersonating his father in the letter, or parroting the language of self-help books to his mother, his voice is unmistakable. Everything is from his perspective, told from his unusual point of view. Indeed, his voice itself has burrowed itself into my mind; his distinctive Welsh drawl makes his monologues seem laconic yet witty, and the dialogue simply hilarious. Craig Roberts’ delivery is nothing short of superb, particularly in the awkward exchanges with his mother, played by Sally Hawkins – as this clip demonstrates from about 0.26 onwards.

Submarine is an impressive directorial debut for Richard Ayoade. I’m not surprised by the finely-tuned comedy; he is most famous for his acting roles in Garth Merenghi’s Darkplace, The Mighty Boosh and The IT Crowd. As much as I admire his performances, I might even go as far to say that I prefer his work behind the camera. The cinematography is experimental, certainly, although occasionally distracting: this clip alone includes a documentary-style zoom-in on the letter (0.27) and an ominous movement as Oliver leans in at 0.48. It shows the sharp style and frequent jump-cuts that force us to watch the film in the way Ayoade wants us to. He must have written the screenplay knowing how the film would look, as shown by a subtly brilliant moment of metacinema earlier in the film. (Pathetically, that was probably my favourite moment, so I won’t spoil it for anybody else with a similarly off-centre sense of humour.)

You might have guessed that I completely loved it. The peril of reviewing is that most people will inevitably disagree with you, but I hope I can persuade one person to seek it out (it had a very limited release) and that they feel the same way. Submarine looks pretentious, but it is intelligent; looks ‘indie’, but is playfully experimental; it might sound like a ‘coming-of-age comedy-drama’, but don’t let that put you off.