Submarine (Richard Ayoade)
The buzz has been intense for Richard Ayoade's debut feature which has impressed on the festival circuit and comes armed with both a strong cast and the not inconsiderable executive production weight of Ben Stiller. Essentially a fairly straightforward coming of age story, Ayoade with the help of cinematographer Erik Wilson crafts a visually striking, sweet and original tale which manages to infuse its familiar narrative territory with a sense of style and on occasion almost dreamlike wonder. Craig Roberts plays Oliver, an adolescent in a small Welsh coastal town experiencing the usual teenage battles of staying the right side of the popular kids in school while striving for an identity of his own. In a series of tableu punctuated by a droll voiceover we are given glimpses into his preoccupations with style, schoolmates and ultimately girls in the form of first love Jordana (Yasmin Paige). His struggle with the consequences of this dalliance mirror that of his parents (Sally Hawkins and Noah Taylor) who are experiencing marital difficulties made all the more complex by the arrival of a new neighbour with questionable motives...
Tonally this film reminded me very much of recent American Independent cinema fare such as Noah Baumbachs 'Squid and the Whale' or the work of Wes Anderson, and its stylistic quirks, sense of energy and colour (despite depicting fairly humdrum and banal situations) and superb soundtrack by Alex Turner give it a fairly unique identity; Indeed while it embraces the self awareness and knowing post modernism of America's alternative auters (Oliver constantly refers to the fact that he wishes his life were a movie and imagines a film crew capturing his every move even detailing which shot would best capture his situation) Submarine retains an identity which is unmistakeably British. The bleakness of the landscape and the shadows of the ever present industrial landmarks rusting in the backdrop of Olivers teen angst evoke memories of Thatchers Britain and Morriseys poetry at its most maudlin.
The lead performances are strong but this is very much an ensemble piece, Noah Taylor brings a hangdog air of lingering dissapointment to Lloyd, Paddy Considine enjoys himself as smarmy, narcissistic life guru Graham and Sally Hawkins so effervescent as Poppy in Mike Leighs 'Happy go Lucky' plays against type as the repressed, unfulfilled Jill reflecting on a life that promised much but, as a recurring visual motif suggests, is destined to fizzle out into banality.
As a Filmmaker Ayoade is at his best when exploring the motivations behind the decisions we make and how we justify these things to ourselves. In an early early scene Oliver joins in a spot of bullying to get close to his teenage crush, explaining that its just something 'he has to do' to get closer to Jordana. It is only later when we realise the impact of this episode and the truth behind the way Oliver acts that we are reminded of the way lives, particularly as an adolescent can hinge on the most minor seemingly insignificant detail. It is this subtlety combined with the eloquence of its storytelling that make Submarine a truly refreshing film.
