Submarine
★★★★
(2010)
Richard Ayoade’s darkly funny, rich and technically faultless debut film has been causing quite a stir since it’s beautiful trailer started floating about online. How could Moss from the IT Crowd be into Francois Truffaut, Hal Ashby, Wes Anderson and Lois Malle? Submarine, based on Joe Dunthorn’s coming of age novel, certainly embraces elements of all, even down to it’s bold type setting, literate structuring, art direction and cheeky self awareness but Ayoade manages never to let heavy handed irony or his influences, however obvious, get in the way of crafting a wonderful little character driven debut film.
Craig Roberts plays Oliver Tate, a self absorbed, middle of the road 15 year old who sets himself two tasks; Confess and act upon his undying love for classmate Jordana (Yasmine Page) and stop his parents (the brilliant Noah Taylor and Sally Hawkins) from splitting up. Our dufflecoat wearing hero (think Harold and Maude’s Bud Cort with a little less emphasis on the infatuation with death) isn’t an entirely lovable chap and why he’d be interested in the prickly Jordana is a bit of thorn in the films paw early on but it’s also because of this that Submarine develops a beat all of its own, especially amongst British films of late.
Set in an unnamed Welsh town in the mid eighties, Ayoade’s film could in fact be set anywhere (references to VHS and Crodcodile Dundee aside); With his characters favouring type writers, matches, Polaroids and super 8 camera and listening to Serge Gainsboug. The directors love of cinema of the French New Wave never seems too serious and one point pokes fun Truffaut and at his own budgetary limitations, with Oliver himself cuing a zoom where a “high sweeping shot” would have apparently been far more effective.
The homages are rich and clever; In a scene taken straight from Annie Hall Oliver takes Jordana to see Dreyer’s The Passion of Joan of Arc (Alvy ridiculously takes Keaton to see The Sorrow and the Pity), gives her some books on Nietzsche and a copy of Catcher in the Rye, insisting they develop similar tastes, a theme constant in Allen’s best work. “Why would I want to be more like you?” she hurtfully asks and the pair argue as Jordana leaves the cinema before the end of the film.
The striking Sally Hawkins and creased and hunched Noah Taylor are perfect as Oliver’s parents. Hawkins conversations with the drably comic Roberts are definite high points throughout the film and Taylor’s delivery of a mix tape made for his son is an unexpected and wonderful moment; Though for the sake of the films soundtrack it seems only to contain 5 new songs from The Arctic Monkeys front man Alex Turner. The singers voice imprinting the film, again similar to the way Cat Stevens’ warble breezes though Ashby’s classic film. Paddy Considine delivers a the films only true caricature; Hamming it up brilliantly as a mullet headed psychic, neighbour and ex boyfriend of Oliver’s Mum, a character which, against the tone of the film’s final part especially, works very well as a balance instead of standing out like a sore thumb.
Though not as unique are some are saying in the world of cinema, Submarine certainly stands apart stylistically in British cinema as a confident, assured and superbly entertaining film packed full of great performances from a talented young director.
