Review of Submarine (2011) by John M — 01 Aug 2016

It's always nice when a film creates characters who aren't perfect. It's ultimately the imperfections of a character, rather than their perfections, that make them so relatable in the end. Richard Ayoade utilizes this aspect of storytelling to its full potential in Submarine, his feature film debut.

It's a charming little film that's a lot deeper than it initially seems: what could be a simple story of young love and coming of age has a lot more brewing under the surface of it's protagonist Oliver Tate (Craig Roberts).

Oliver, a precocious 15-year-old, wants nothing more than to lose his virginity and rekindle the love between his parents: unfortunately for him, both of those things come with more tribulations than he expects.

Roberts does a great job of infusing charm into Oliver, especially as a romance blossoms between him and fellow classmate Jordana Bevan (Yasmin Paige), and balancing his likeable qualities with his flaws as a character.

Ayoade himself, now an actor turned director, delivers the story with beautiful stylistic choices highly reminiscent of the works of Wes Anderson, with lots of interesting camera movements and superimposed title cards.

There's one aspect that Ayoade brings to the table that Anderson has always struggled with: heart. For all of the more somber moments, especially in the third act, Ayoade has adapted Joe Dunthorne's novel into a beautiful coming-of-age film that anyone who has experienced young love or family issues can relate to.

Keep an eye out on Richard Ayoade: he's a director with a lot of promise.