Originally published on Panic Dots.
It’s no fun growing up different. At least, that’s what anyone who was born in the early 80s had drummed into them on a daily basis. It’s only been in the last ten years or so that being a geek has taken on a cultural significance of its own, with cardigans very much being en vogue and thick rimmed glasses a must for any scenester worth his salt. It’s quite unsettling seeing the kids who used to chase you around the playground with poo on a stick all grown up and wearing a dungeons and dragons t-shirt, strutting their stuff at the indie disco. But fashions change, and for the time being, at least, geek chic is here to stay.
Submarine is set in Wales circa 1980s, and tells the tale of 15 year old Oliver (Craig Roberts), a young and troubled boy, who’s a little bit on the freaky side of eccentric. It will come as no surprise that it has little, if anything, to do with submarines.
The audience are submerged in the lead character’s world by expert use of internal monologue, allowing us to share in Oliver’s quirky observations, and myriad insecurities as the film progresses. Had director Richard Ayoade (The IT Crowd) gone down the Ferris Bueller’s Day Off direct address route, it would have seemed horribly out of place, as Oliver is an outsider, and nowhere near as confident as the cheeky titular John Hughes” character. Like all 15 year old boys, he’s crushingly aware of how he’s perceived in the social pecking order, and does very little to rock the boat, keeping his head down, fantasising about a film crew documenting his every movement, and desperately obsessed with losing his virginity.
His family life is somewhat of a slow moving train wreck. His mother (Sally Hawkins) is an extrovert at heart, who appears to be smothered by her low key lifestyle pace set by her husband (Noah Taylor), a marine biologist who is prone to bouts of depression and self loathing. Oliver definitely takes after his old man in this respect.
The family dynamic becomes self destructive when a new neighbour Graham arrives on the scene (played deliciously by Paddy Considine, sporting an impressive mullet). There’s history between Graham and Oliver’s mum Jill, and his father just doesn’t seem to have the energy to fight for his wife.
But this isn’t where the soul of the story lies. It all hangs off Oliver‘s crush, Jordana (Yasmin Paige). She’s the kind of girl you can take to a junkyard and set fire to old sofas, and has her own favourite brand of matches. If that isn’t romance, then I don’t know what is. Through a hilarious set of lucky coincidences, Oliver finds himself in a relationship with Jordana, and that’s where what could have been just another Napoleon Dynamite knock off flourishes into an expertly crafted film in its own right.
I’m not one to get mushy over films, but the relationship portrayed on screen between the two stars of Submarine is nothing short of beautiful. Ayoade had me reliving those first pangs of teenage love, and those tentative steps towards maturity we’ve all had to take – when you hold somebody’s heart in your hands for the first time, and don’t have the emotional maturity not to crush it with an ill timed remark, or act of selfishness.
In Summary:
Submarine is fantastically dark in places, and in spite of the morbid undertones, I found myself laughing hysterically at many points throughout the film – and not my standard cinema laugh: full on donkey grunting, usually reserved for close friends and family. The only downside to the film, I found, was the Alex Turner soundtrack. I’m not the biggest fan of Turner’s foray into folk, and some of it seems oddly out of place in the film. A good example is the mix tape Oliver’s father makes for him: one side is supposed to be up-lifiting, while the other is for times of depression. Unsurprisingly, both sides of the tape sound pretty much the same.
Richard Ayoade has captured the pangs of adolescence, family and casual vandalism in a darkly comic, and uniquely British way. If you were a geek before geek was chic, you HAVE to see this film.