Submarine is the directorial debut of Richard Ayoade. He is well-known for his comedy background- starring in the ‘IT Crowd’, ‘The Mighty Boosh’, and as being the scene-stealer in the inimitable ‘Garth Marenghi’s Darkplace’. His previous directing work has consisted of music video clips by the Arctic Monkeys, Vampire Weekend, Yeah Yeah Yeahs and more. Both these elements of portfolio lend themselves well in Aoyade’s foray into feature films as he brings a touching mix of comedy, realism and a visual richness.
The film is adapted from Joe Dunthorne’s 2008 novel of the same name, and executive produced by Ben Stiller (who appears in the briefest cameo known to man). From the sounds of it, Ayoade has gained quite a number of fans in Hollywood’s high places- Joel McHale and the Weinsteins included. Watch out for him on ‘up & comer’ end-of-year lists for sure. Even from the movie poster alone, you can grasp the gist of Submarine– it’s a coming of age indie film with a nostalgic feel in the tradition of Wes Anderson (primarily) and Michel Gondry.
Here, Oliver Tate (Craig Roberts) is crusading to save his parents marriage, and also be ‘the best boyfriend’ ever, all set against the bleak backdrop of 1980s (we guess) Swansea, Wales. Roberts does a brilliant job as the lead and absolutely carries the film. The neurotic and intelligent schoolboy narrates a movie about his own life in his head- one of the opening shots is him imagining his death and the overwhelming response to it (haven’t we all). It’s a bitingly funny scene, with a news reporter who calls his death, not just a loss for the school but “… a loss for Wales”. Oliver’s story is set up in three parts- ‘Jordana Bevan’ (the love story), ‘Graham Purvis’ (the affair) and ‘The Show Down’. Cast highlights also come from ‘our’ Noah Taylor – can he do anything wrong? And Yasmin Paige also delivers the pivotal performance of Jordana with just the right mix of sarcasm and fragility. The score by Ayoade’s close friend, Alex Turner (Arctic Monkeys) adds a sentimentality to the story, and Turner’s voice lends itself perfectly to the ordinary setting, and the hope of something more.
The weakness of this film lies in some of the more contrived scenes, where it’s trying too hard to be an iconic Wes Anderson film rather than be influenced by it. The fireworks, abandoned fairgrounds, polaroids, the red anorak, ‘Catcher in the Rye’ as his favourite book- it’s Tumblr in motion. There was one scene in particular (involving Oliver and Jordana) where I wished in my head for it not to go down a certain route and thus turning the film into a cliche of itself “Please don’t do it, please don’t do it, please don’t do it” – but don’t worry, it doesn’t. So maybe it’s not as predictable, as certain parts lead you to believe it could be.
There’s really a lot to enjoy about Submarine, the young cast is stellar and Ayoade’s directing is fun to watch. He has an incredible command of the idiosyncratic tone; it’s hard to believe this is his first movie. Also by the end of the film, you will know how deep the ocean, which is always a fun fact to carry around.
