Perhaps best described as a cross between Juno, Napoleon Dynamite and The Inbetweeners, Submarine is both murky and inspired, which helps kept my eyes and ears tuned to the story as it unfolded…
Submarine is a coming of age drama/comedy centered around the life of 15-year-old Oliver Tate who is in love with the wayward Jordana Bevan for whom he decides to compromise his personal morals to impress.
Meanwhile, Oliver also monitors his parents’ waning sex life with some concern and grows uneasy when he discovers that his new next-door-neighbour is also his mother’s ex-boyfriend.
The film stars two relatively unknown faces, Craig Roberts and Yasmin Paige, in lead roles. Other notable cast members are Sally Hawkins, playing Oliver’s mother, and Paddy Considine, taking the role of her sleazy, new age guru, ex-boyfriend and new neighbour.
Australian actor, Noah Taylor, also plays Oliver’s depressed Marine Biologist father whose long face and dreary clothes fit in perfectly with the dullness of the Tate’s family home on the hill.
The film is set in Swansea in 1986 when VHS tapes and mullet haircuts were king, which adds wonderfully to the amusement of the storyline. The overall look of the film is quite dark and subdued with plenty of bad wallpaper, haircuts, and drab clothing to make the point.
The film is mostly lit using natural light and was often shot at either dusk or dawn in the freezing cold Welsh autumn and this seems to somewhat represent the mood of the entire film – more to be relatable than depressing though.
Dialogue is in dispersed with both beautiful and robust shots of the Welsh countryside – of coastlines and stonewalls and wastelands – which enriches the story to no end.
Adapted from a book of the same name by Joe Dunthorne, Submarine was written and directed by The IT Crowd’s Richard Ayoade, his first time directing a feature-length film.
The soundtrack is youthful and decidedly British and features five songs by Arctic Monkeys musician, Alex Turner in his first offering as a solo artist.
Perhaps best described as a cross between Juno, Napoleon Dynamite and The Inbetweeners, Submarine is both murky and inspired, which helps kept my eyes and ears tuned to the story as it unfolded.
This film is not fast-paced by any means (and rightfully so), and some of the themes are less than pleasant to watch, but the story and the characters stayed in my mind for days afterwards, which suggests that Submarine is more than your usual, one-dimensional flick.
Submarine is in cinemas from November 24th.
By Jasmine Pearson 4 November 2011.
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