3 1/2 out of 5 *****
The events of one’s adolescence may not be the most significant part of a person’s life, but at the time, there are few other occasions that seem so important. If proof were needed, Richard Ayoade’s Submarine shows that you can take the coming-of-age story and set it anywhere. This is the kind of film that would normally be in the midwest of America. Submarine takes place in Swansea.
The story centres around 15 year old, Oliver Tate (played by Craig Roberts). We’ve seen the type before; solipsistic and socially awkward. But just because he periodically reads the dictionary or went through “a hat phase”, doesn’t prohibit him from trying to fit in the same as any other teen. Of course fitting in (for a straight male at least) means finding a girlfriend & losing one’s virginity. Oliver has his eyes set on Jordana Bevan (Yasmin Paige), who he states is, “moderately unpopular, making a romance between us more likely.” The desire for a girlfriend isn’t just about satiating his teenage hormones; it proves to everyone that he’s not gay, which is the worst slur that can be directed in the school playground.
The rigours of the school experience are captured expertly; the casual cruelty with which the weaker pupils are treated, the rat-race for acceptance, and enduring lessons rather than enjoying them. All Oliver wants to do is spend his time with Jordana, while simultaneously trying to prevent his parents’ marriage from falling apart. An old flame of his mother’s, Graham (Paddy Considine) has moved in next door, and Oliver worries that she may be tempted away from his father to start a new life with him. Oliver’s parents, Jill (Sally Hawkins) & Lloyd (Noah Taylor) are in a disintegrating union, with the pair of them too uptight and dolorous to prevent what looks to be an inevitable divorce.
Often in movies, we see the efforts the protagonist goes through to get the girl. But what happens then? What if Romeo & Juliet’s families had been friends? How much comparing thee to a summer’s day would there have been? After the initial flush of romance, Oliver has to deal with the more mundane realities of such a relationship.
This film is Ayoade’s directorial debut. He’s best known for playing the role of Moss in the sitcom, The I.T Crowd. And despite his background, this isn’t a TV guy trying his hand at a movie. He helms the story with the proficiency of someone with a wealth of experience in this medium, you’d be forgiven for thinking this was his tenth film rather than his first. There is a distinct and strong Wes Anderson influence at work, which fits an offbeat tale such as this.
The performances match the quality of the direction. Roberts – who also appeared in the most recent series of Being Human - gives a staggering display in the lead role. The story is told entirely through his prism, meaning that the film rises or falls on his portrayal of Oliver. Roberts embodies all the contradictory facets of his age group; aware, but lacking self-awareness. Commenting on others, but always in his own head; Assured, but ridden with nerves; Immensely thoughtful, and incredibly thoughtless, all at the same time.
Sally Hawkins – who may Britain’s finest actress – is excellent as Oliver’s mother anxious mother, but then I could happily watch her in anything. Noah Taylor And Paddy Considine are also impressive at the two polar opposites of a potential male suitor. And Yasmin Paige is a delight as Jordana. Like Oliver, she conforms to the unofficial rules of her peer group, only to go through her own maturation process as the film develops. Regardless of social standing, the common thread linking all teenagers is that they try at all costs to avoid being “found out”. The worst thing you can do at that age is show the full gamut of who you really are.
Submarine goes about unpicking these defence mechanisms and lays its characters bare. And in a lacklustre year for cinema, thus far, it’s one of the stand-out movies of 2011.
