Submarine: Sinking Ship or Riding the Waves to Success

Anyone reading this, who is in their late teens, twenties or above, will know that sometimes adolescence can suck, and sometimes it can be brilliant, but very rarely does it follow along the same (slim, toned, sexy, spot-free, care-free) lines of coming of age films like American Pie.

I can’t speak for the entire population, but my teenage years were more ‘Inbetweeners’ than ‘Skins’, so it was really refreshing to go to the cinema and watch a film which honours and celebrates these awkward years of life, rather than trying to pretend it’s an easy ride of parties, booze and casual sex.

I’m talking about Richard Ayoade’s debut film Submarine, which tells the incredibly ordinary, but incredibly well observed tale of a 15 year old boy growing up in Wales; his life, his first love, and how he deals with his parents' failing marriage.

Oliver Tate (Craig Roberts) is a bit of an outcast. He keeps a diary. He wears a duffel coat. He fantasises about the emotional aftermath of his own death and the looks on girls faces at his subsequent resurrection. Jordana (Yasmin Paige) is the matchstick/fire loving, ‘public displays of emotion’ hating girl of his dreams.

Narrated by Tate, the film follows their blossoming relationship, with the addition of a marital crisis at the hands of an ex-lover who has returned to their sleepy town, and a terminal illness which could make or break the romance between the pair.

At first it seems to fill the soundtrack, with very few moments of dialogue occurring in the first 20 minutes. Though it grated on my nerves initially, as you get accustomed to his interjections they provide a brilliantly comical insight into his slightly warped mind. (Using the position of the dimmer switch to check if his parents had recently had sex, to give but one example of his quirks!).

Tonally it is reminiscent of a Wes Anderson film - it’s a character driven narrative, whose main players are all slightly oddball. The story meanders along at an enjoyably slow pace, allowing the viewer to become part of Oliver’s world as he deals with the very real problems teenagers face. And, like an Anderson script, it is extremely funny. The humour is as enjoyably awkward as the plot itself.

It may be Ayoade’s film directorial debut, but he’s no stranger to working behind the camera having shot music videos for the Arctic Monkey’s (presumably the reason for Alex Turner’s involvement) and directed all six episodes of the channel 4 cult comedy Garth Marenghi’s Darkplace.

Subsequently, parallels can be drawn with Darkplace, which throws up slight problems for anyone who has seen it. Darkplace (which comes highly recommended from me!) is an 80’s hospital based sci-fi drama spoof, with intentionally low production values. As such, seeing parallels between this honest, true to life story, and that piss-take, handy-cam, parody occasionally jerked me out of the films world.

That aside, this is a wonderfully constructed film. From the granddad tie and cringy candlelit dinner to the love letters Oliver writes from his dad to his mum, it’s obvious that it has been lovingly crafted from start to finish, and not just thrown together. From the beautifully simple cinematography and clever editing (with nods to Godard) to the pop art titles and chapter structuring, this is a film lovers film.

Ayoade should be congratulated for creating a near perfect, incredibly funny, eccentric, quirky and cool debut film, full of heart, happiness and nostalgia. Does it deserve all the praise that is being heaped up on it? Yes.