If a bunch of groovy first-year film students got together to make a movie, with a lot of funding and the rights to a Joe Dunthorne novel, it might look something like this. On paper, the coming-of-age comedy-drama Submarine looks promising: alternative characters, a lo-fi aesthetic and 80s setting. However, in studiously avoiding anything resembling sentimentality while striving for quirk and whimsy, Submarine ends up feeling like a film designed by committee.
In Submarine (written and directed by Richard Ayoade) 15-year-old Oliver Tate (Craig Roberts) has two objectives: to lose his virginity before his next birthday, and to extinguish the flame between his mother (Sally Hawkins) and an ex-lover (Paddy Considine) who’s resurfaced in her life. There are plenty of unlikeable lead characters in films who are loveable nonetheless, but for me, Duffel-coated Oliver (whose pretensions and affectations seemed so charming in the trailer), isn’t one of them.
Living right next door to Oliver is Graham Purvis, new age guru and his mother’s ex-lover/rekindled flame. Purvis’ presence here is so out of place, so mental; like a two-dimensional, slapstick version of Tom Cruise’ character in Magnolia, that he pulls Submarine over the line from OK to nonsensical. But on the upside, we have Oliver’s father, Lloyd – a beautifully written, depressed marine biologist, played to understated perfection by British/Australian actor Noah Taylor.
Plus, while we’re on the bright side – it’s a pretty movie, with a kind of French New Wave aesthetic, reflective of the way Oliver sees himself, as a romantic figure in a film of his life. While some reviewers are praising Submarine for its accurate portrayal of how it feels to be a teenager, I think (photographically at least) it captures the way it feels to remember being a teenager: with much of the action happening in the cinematic ‘magic hour’ between school and home, which lends itself so well to nostalgia.
The Swansea locations are really lovely too: the ocean, the hills, the trees. And then there’s the council estates and garbage dumps where Oliver and his girlfriend Jordana hang out, since she forbids him from taking her any place which could be considered romantic.
Jordana’s attitude kind of sums up the ethos of the film for me: self consciously alternative, living in fear of sentimentality or an honest moment, and thereby making it really hard for the viewer to become submerged in the world of Submarine.
5/10
[Admit One’s James was also underwhelmed but gave it the pass score of 6/10]
Have you read Submarine? Seen Submarine? I’d very much like to hear from you if you watched and enjoyed it!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p1X7CCRg8XE
