Submarine- Movie Review

Directed by Richard Ayoade.
Screenplay by Ayoade, based on the novel by Joe Dunthorne.
Running Time: 97 minutes (1h, 37 mins.)
Rated R (for language and some sexual content).
Distributor: The Weinstein Company

Submarine is a misleading title. Although the main character looks at a picture of a submarine in one little scene, it is not about a submarine nor does it take place on a submarine. It's a story dealing with teenage awkwardness and love. It's an homage to such filmmakers like Wes Anderson or Michel Gondry. It's a story that can strike a chord with many teenagers and adults of a certain age. It's British too, so maybe you can work on that British accent when you watch it. I know I did.

The movie follows Oliver Tate (Craig Roberts), a 15-year-old boy living in Swansea who's socially awkward and a little alienated. He sees his life as a motion picture and he hopes that when he dies, there will be silence across the school halls and everyone who knows him will weep and walk in his honor. Like all teenage boys, sex is one of the things on his mind, however he's doesn't search for it in the "American Pie" way. He's more classy and mature about it. He's in love with one of his school classmates, Jordana Bevan (Yasmin Paige) and does everything to impress her, even playing a prank on a student who's overweight. After a chance meeting under a bridge, the two begin to hit it off and start a weird-but-sweet relationship.

Meanwhile, Oliver sees that the marriage between his parents is falling apart. His dad, Lloyd (Noah Taylor) has become depressed and his mother, Jill's (Sally Hawkins) ex-boyfriend, a seductive guru named Graham moves in next door and that makes matters worse, as he worries that she may be having a affair with him. So not only is he trying to lose his virginity, but he's also attempting to keep his parents together, no matter what it takes.

I was surprised at how much I loved this movie. What could have been a raunchy teen sex comedy is instead it's a quirky and smart comedy mixed with moody drama and the performances help that flourish. Newcomer Craig Roberts (who I remember well on the original British version of Being Human) gives a standout performance. Even though he plays a character who's a bit weird, it's very hard not to like him and be invested in the story he tells and the relationship he has with Yasmin Paige's character, who's great as well. Roberts, who also this year had a supporting role in the Jane Eyre remake, is one to watch. Noah Taylor (who I remember from the Tomb Raider movies) and Sally Hawkins (who won a Golden Globe for Happy-Go-Lucky, a film, to this day, I still haven't seen) work well with the material they have and Paddy Considine is hilarious as the seductive next-door neighbor.

The film's director is Richard Ayoade. He's better known to British audiences as Maurice Moss on the sitcom, The IT Crowd. He also directed an hilarious episode of one of my favourite shows, Community and a ton of music videos from artists that range from Yeah Yeah Yeahs to Vampire Weekend. Like that episode and those videos, this film was directed perfectly and the cinematography is magnificent. Whoever did it, I hope he/she does more films. I also like the musical score in here, too. Like the film, it's quirky and moody.

Submarine has earned a spot of one of the best films of not only the summer, but the year. It's original, smart, funny, quirky, and absolutely cool. I even consider it a wake-up call to Hollywood, hoping that when they're watching this film, they realize they can't keep churning out just sequels, remakes and reboots. And even unoriginal romantic comedies, since we get those a lot (*cough* Something Borrowed). I give it ***1/2 (Three and a half stars).

If you're an Arctic Monkeys fan, you'll be happy to know that the band's frontman, Alex Turner wrote the songs for the movie. Here's just one of them, entitled Piledriver Waltz.