As long as there have been teenagers, there have been stories about mopey, love struck adolescents. Submarine follows suit with a young protagonist who seemed to have been raised on a steady diet of J.D. Salinger and French New Wave cinema.
Oliver Tate (Craig Roberts) is an iconoclastic boy growing up in Wales or more specifically, the suburbs of Swansea, birthplace of Dylan Thomas and Catherine Zeta-Jones. He's the type of kid who brings a briefcase to school with him. Oliver also wears a suit and tie as part of the dress uniform, but you get the feeling he'd probably still wear them if it weren't required. Oliver thinks of himself as a well-heeled and erudite individual. He listens to Serge Gainsbourg and enjoys the films of Jean-Pierre Melville, after all. Most importantly, Oliver believes he is much beloved by his peers. In the opening scene of Submarine, he stares off into the horizon and imagines what would happen to the school if he committed suicide. All the teachers and students would surely mourn his loss. The reality of the situation is that Oliver isn't particularly popular nor is he at the bottom of the food chain. Just like so many high schoolers before and after him, Oliver is simply filling a seat.
Oliver has become smitten with an equally unique classmate named Jordana Bevan (Yasmine Paige), who possesses a pageboy hairdo, a slight case of eczema, and a penchant for burning things. Oliver goes against his principals to bully an overweight girl in order to grab Jordana's attention. Though he feels remorse, the ploy works. However, the supposedly mature Oliver learns that love carries a heavy emotional weight that he is not equipped to handle. At the same time, he must try to save his parents' marriage. Oliver's father, Lloyd (Noah Taylor) is sleepwalking through life due to a crushing bout of depression. This has caused his wife, Jill (Sally Hawkins), to drift towards her ex-boyfriend, Graham Purvis (Paddie Considione), a ridiculous new age guru with a spiky mullet.
Based on a 2008 novel by Joe Dunthorne, Submarine marks the feature directorial debut of Richard Ayoade, a jack of all trades who fans of British comedy might recognize from series like The IT Crowd and Garth Marenghi's Darkplace. He also helmed the "Critical Film Studies" episode of NBC's Community, which featured a fusion of Pulp Fiction and Louis Malle's My Dinner with Andre. With the sure hand of a seasoned director, Ayoade has created a visually striking picture that might have come out of a time capsule. Submarine has a vintage look and a timeless feel to an era where kids passed around notes in class rather than texting on their smartphones. Ayoade also borrows liberally from the Wes Anderson playbook with his straight-on compositions, dry sense of humor, and blocky chapter titles.
Craig Roberts' most notable role to date was a brief appearance in Jane Eyre as the title character's abusive cousin. Here, Roberts shines in his first starring role in a performance that draws upon Jean-Pierre Leaud's Antoine Doinel, Jason Schwartzman's Max Fischer, and Bud Cort's Harold from Harold and Maude. Roberts' wide eyes and cherubic visage certainly bare a strong resemblance to the latter character. Neither Roberts nor Ayoade shy away from the highs and lows of teenage love. Kids can be cruel and selfish at times and Oliver Tate is no different. He tries to remake Jordana in his image by making her read Nietzsche and watch Carl Theodor Dreyer's The Passion of Joan of Arc. Oliver eventually learns the hard way that he lacks the emotional maturity he naively thought he had. Kids can also be big balls of contradictions. As Oliver maintains an image of wisdom beyond his years, he clings to childish ways when it comes to reconciling his parents crumbling marriage.
Sally Hawkins and Noah Taylor give understated, yet remarkably rich performances as Oliver's parents. The one character that sticks out like a sore thumb is Paddy Considine's psychic ninja, Graham Purvis. He's a cartoon character who would be fit in more at a Kajagoogoo reunion concert. His silliness could be written off as exaggeration by Oliver, whose narration can be heard throughout the film.
Submarine tends to be the overly precious and needlessly quirky cinema that arthouse hipsters eat up with a spoon. If you cannot stand the genre, then Submarine is one to avoid. However, if you are able to get past the showy flourishes, you might find a touching coming-of-age story highlighted by beautiful imagery and a dry sense of humor.
Rating: ** ½ (*****)
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