Submarine

Being so far away from my school years that I remember Betamax video players and a world without Instagram, I'm not that into teen love stories, but I was more than happy to give 'Submarine' a try, based on the fact that it was directed by the (awesome!) Richard Ayoade (best known for the 'IT Crowd'). And I really enjoyed it. In fact, I bought the DVD, but have only just got round to watching it a second time again. Oddly enough... I wondered what I saw in it the first time round.

It's set in the eighties (some may call this a 'period piece' but it basically sums up the world my childhood was set in) where a teenage boy struggles with growing up. Or rather he struggles with his own inner demons surrounding what plagues many boys of that age... girls. He's fallen in love with a girl in his school and he basically has to come to a way of winning her over, while dealing with his parents possibly having marital difficulties.

So the plot is hardly original and, don't get me wrong... it's not bad. The direction is very good - I believe the term is 'meta' where the characters sometimes talk directly to the camera in scenes where the protagonist theorises on what may or may not be happening. And, although there are plenty of good lines here and there which will make you smile. Plus, if you're like me (i.e. of a certain age) you will enjoy seeing the world before smartphones. However, what didn't seem to gel with me this time was the two leads.

I found them both a bit unlikeable. They seemed so wrapped up in themselves that I found I didn't really care whether they got together and lived happily ever after or not. Maybe I've just got even older and I'm finding even less in common with the younger generation (even if the younger generation in question are the ones I grew up with!). Overall, I - sort of - enjoyed it the second time around. Like I say, it's very well directed and Richard Ayoade definitely has a future ahead of him if he ever tired of fixing computers, plus I did laugh here and there, but I probably won't watch it a third time.

Dead pan humour is the order of the day with Submarine. Understated lines such as "my mum gave a hand job to a mystic" could go unnoticed by an inattentive audience; every exchange has a hidden reward if picked up on. There are of course obvious jokes throughout, however the true comedy is found in Oliver Tate's voice over and interactions.

Casting Craig Roberts as Oliver Tate was a masterstroke and much of the film's success is based on his performance. The imaginative and peculiar schoolboy analyses everything, often conjuring up fictional events which parody mainstream movies. In one such hypothetical situation he sees Jordana (Yasmin Paige) by the shore and runs to her, meanwhile his narration explains that it isn't her standing there, a stranger turns around.

Submarine is a simple coming of age story, without the solid plot of the British film veterans. A little slow paced on occasion, it could have done with an extra thread of story. In essence the narrative follows two strands, the relationship between Oliver and Jordana and between Oliver and his family. Trying to date Jordana and reignite the spark between his parents isn't a small task, not that that fazes Oliver.

Submarine is devilishly funny, a true gem and I hope it doesn't stay under the radar of most cinema goers for much longer.

There's nothing better than walking into a screen to see the debut film by a writer and director – one that you have only heard very little about – and walking away 90 minutes later feeling more moved, entertained and uplifted by a movie than you have been in years.

Perhaps cinema-goers in the mid 1990s had this experience upon seeing Wes Anderson's first film Bottle Rocket. And maybe even those who witnessed Spike Jonze's big screen debut, Being John Malkovich, only a few years later will understand it too. However, for those of you who, like me, were too young to witness the birth of these auteurs of independent cinema then you don't have to worry, because Richard Ayoade's film Submarine is almost as good as both of them put together.

It tells the story of Oliver Tate who is caught at the junction between childhood and adulthood as he struggles with his first feelings of love, desire, heartbreak and must choose what path he wishes to take that'll define who he is for the rest of his life.

Sure, it may sound somewhat similar to all the coming-of-age stories that have hit the cinema recently, but what makes Submarine so special is Richard Ayoade's ability to capture the essence of growing up; the joy, the optimism and the tenderness alongside all the angst, confusion and depression too. I defy anyone to not see themselves plastered up on that silver screen in the film's opening as Oliver fantasises about the adoration and attention he'd receive if he died.

The ups and downs of this British comedy are mainly due to Ayoade's wonderful screenplay and direction that are touching yet never slip into sentimentality - he often playfully pokes fun at it in many cases – but what also deserves credit are the poignant score by Arctic Monkey's singer Alex Turner, the cinematography that effortlessly shifts between comic framing and beautiful imagery and the note-perfect performances by the entire cast.

Craig Roberts plays Oliver Tate in a star-making performance that will surely see him become one of Britain's finest young actors in the next few years. His character is a complex, multifaceted one yet he is able to make it wholly believable. Similarly outstanding is Yasmin Page as his love interest Jordana. It's essential to the story that she is a mystery to Oliver for much of Submarine's opening half, only revealing the reasons why she is so rebellious, unromantic and mischievous in the final act, and Page brilliantly portrays this with a careful mix of enigma, seductiveness and humanity.

What also excels Ayoade's film from being just another British coming of age story is the stylishness of his direction. Presented in the fashion of a French New Wave film like Jules Et Jim or A Bout De Soufflé he gives Submarine an aurora of quirkiness and creativity that you rarely find in British cinema. The "kitchen sink" is gone and has been replaced by jump cuts, inventive sound design and a somewhat disjointedness.

This style, moreover, helps to complement the personality of our aforementioned protagonist who sees the world in a unique way to everyone else.

So what lies in the future for British cinema? Some could argue that it's the big dramas like The King's Speech, others could argue that it's the low budget affairs like Monsters and many will say that it's spectacles like Harry Potter. However, on the evidence that Richard Ayoade presents here, Submarine might just be a glimpse of the great things to come.

Most teen romance coming-of-age movies are completely predictable, especially the American ones. High school student, Oliver Tate, as played by Craig Roberts, reminded of an equally quirky Dustin Hoffman in "The Graduate." He wanders throughout this comedy with a wisdom far greater than those around him. He spies on his very strange mother & father and tries to keep a relationship with his girlfriend, Jordana(Yasmin Paige) going with very mixed results.

Writer-Director Richard Ayoade does a great job of keeping the pace moving with no wasted moments & a dialogue that is both witty & believable at the same time.

If you are in the mood for a film which will make you smile and even bring back some childhood memories, this a perfect choice; Ayoade is to be commended for a wonderful movie & I eagerly await his next project.

Whilst watching Richard Ayoade playing uber-nerd Moss in the hit-and- miss sitcom The IT Crowd, or playing TV producer and actor Dean Lerner in the criminally underrated Garth Merenghi's Darkplace, the last thing I pictured him doing was confidently directing a feature-length film. I don't mean to knock him, as I've always felt he was an extremely talented comedy performer and writer, and he brightens up whatever he appears in, no matter how crap the material. But here he has focused all his ambition, influences and talent into creating a truly memorable debut.

Tate (Craig Roberts), a strange, intelligent and unnervingly confident schoolboy who falls for an equally strange girl Jordana (Yasmin Paige). After an incident which sees Oliver reluctantly participate in a spot of casual bullying that causes a girl to fall into a muddy pond, Oliver and Jordana begin their unusual romance. All seems to be going well until Oliver suspects his mother Jill (Sally Hawkins) of having an affair with cheesy self-help guru Graham (Paddy Considine), who lives next door. His father Lloyd (Noah Taylor) is so passive and uncaring that he is practically a zombie, and so Oliver takes it upon himself to rescue his parent's broken marriage whilst holding his own fragile relationship together.

The film arrives amidst critical praise and festival word-of-mouth, and the promise of a real future talent in director Richard Ayoade. I'm pleased to announce that the film is every bit as good as I've heard. I had my doubts, concerned with the film's 'quirky indie comedy' tag that films are so lazily lumbered with these days. But while the film is quirky, indie and a comedy, it finds its influences lying elsewhere - from the greatest of all film movements, the French New Wave. From the start this is clear with the Godard-esque large lettering with strong colours for the opening credits and title cards. Everything about the film screams New Wave, from its stylistic boldness, self-awareness, and even the unconventionally handsome and turtle-neck-wearing leading man.

One of the main strengths of the film is it's awareness of slipping into cliché. The quirkiness and magic of the French New Wave have been copied and ripped-off so often that nowadays when it is used it can come across as pretentious. But Oliver's intelligence and amusing voice-over frequently touches on this. At the start of his relationship with Jordana, they spend their days on the beach and frequenting industrial wastelands, and Oliver comments that he will put these moments in his 'Super 8 memories', cue shots of the couple running and laughing on the beach, shot in that grainy, home-video look. He also fantasises that he is in a film, and that the film will end up with him searching for Jordana on a beach and how it will end in an arty-farty, pretentious manner aimed to encourage discussion among chin-strokers. It's a great little trick and you have to admire the film's refreshing self- assurance.

The film is also very, very funny, with Craig Roberts proving an extremely talented comedy performer, all pale-skinned, wide-eyed awkwardness, and a pronounced, high pitched voice that almost resembles many of Ayoade's TV characters. The humour is often similar in style to Wes Anderson's (dare I say it?) indie comedies, which are some of the best comedies, if not films, to come out in the last fifteen years. Most of the humour stems from Oliver's increasing desperation to lose his virginity to Jordana, especially in one scene where they find themselves home alone, only for Oliver to light candles around his bed, and lie open-legged on his side in a cheesy pose. Jordana, with her eyes closed waiting for the surprise, opens them and deadpans 'f****n' hell, you're a serial killer.'

A real gem, and a film that definitely introduces the potentially massive talent of director Richard Ayoade, star Craig Roberts, and Arctic Monkeys frontman Alex Turner, who performs the wonderful music. And also a rare opportunity to see some of the beautiful sights of Swansea, where I currently reside.

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