A comedy which follows a 15-year old boy with two objectives: to lose his virginity to the girl of his dreams before his next birthday, and to stop his mother (Sally Hawkins) from leaving his father and hooking up with a new age mystic (Paddy Considine).
Submarine is the first film written and directed by Richard Ayoade, who most will know for his hilarious role as Moss in The I.T. Crowd. However, in his leap from acting to writing and directing Ayoade shows none of his inexperience, delivering a well observed, touching, unique and all round special little film, with terrific performances to boot.
Based on the wonderful book by Joe Dunthorne (which the film perfectly captures the overall tone and feel of, even if it cuts out certain prominent things), Submarine tells the story of Oliver Tate (Craig Roberts), a 15-year-old boy with a unique perspective on life. He sets himself the goal of wooing classmate Jordana Bevan (Yasmin Paige), as well as saving his parents failing marriage, a situation not exactly helped by an ex-lover of his mother's moving in next door.
On the surface Submarine may not seem any different to the tons of other coming-of-age teen dramas. But its in the witty, observant script by Ayoade and the entirely convincing and utterly likable performances from the likes of Roberts, Paige (both newcomers), Sally Hawkins, Noah Taylor (as Oliver's complex parents) and Paddy Considine (as the ridiculous Graham Purvis, the "ninja" ex-lover of Oliver's mother) which help make the film stand out from the crowd.
Submarine also contains one of the best soundtracks of the year, written and performed by lead singer of the Arctic Monkeys, Alex Turner. His five (and a half) songs which play throughout the film are impeccably suited to each scene they accompany. But at the same time it's a soundtrack which can be enjoyed on its own, out of context of the film. Turner should rightfully be nominated for Best Original Song at the Oscars next year.
Submarine perfectly captures that awkward, uncertain, quietly rebellious time that everyone goes through. It's a quirky and witty film but not in a way that feels forced or contrived but rather honest and truthful. Comparisons have been drawn to the work of director Wes Anderson and to an certain extent their valid, but only to a point. Submarine is entirely its own breed of idiosyncratic teen "dramedy" and overall one of the best films of the year.
Special features on the DVD are plentiful, from the usual audio commentaries (here with director Richard Ayoade, writer of the source novel Joe Dunthorne and director of photography Erik Wilson) and cast & crew interviews to unique features like "Through the Prism With Graham T. Purvis," the music video to Alex Turner's "Piledriver Waltz" and a very funny special message from executive producer Ben Stiller. Also look out for some retailers who are selling the film along with limited edition art cards.
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Please note this is a region 2 DVD and will require a region 2 (Europe) or region Free DVD Player in order to play. Writer/director Richard Ayoade adapts author Joe Dunthorne's acerbic coming-of-age novel to the big screen with this comedy centred on the efforts of precocious Welsh 15-year-old Oliver Tate (Craig Roberts) to lose his virginity before his next birthday, and prevent his mother (Sally Hawkins) from having an affair with a smooth-talking spiritual guru (Paddy Considine) after his morose father (Noah Taylor) loses will to fight for his marriage.
The debut feature of British actor Richard Ayoade, this coming-of-age comedy follows 15-year-old Oliver Tate (Craig Roberts) in his dual quest to keep his family together and to lose his virginity before his 16th birthday. Set in Swansea, the film charts Oliver's growing concerns about the relationship between his father, Lloyd (Noah Taylor), a depressive and recently-unemployed marine biologist, and his mother (Sally Hawkins), who appears to be harbouring a crush on fawning new age guru Graham (Paddy Considine). Meanwhile, Oliver ponders how to broach the sticky subject of sex with his eczema-prone, pyromaniac girlfriend Jordana (Yasmin Paige).
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