Writer: Richard Ayoade (Screenplay) Joe Dunthorne (Novel)
Starring: Craig Roberts, Sally Hawkins, Paddy Considine, Noah Taylor, Yasmin Paige, Darren Evans
Plot: 15-year-old Oliver Tate has two objectives: To lose his virginity before his next birthday, and to extinguish the flame between his mother and an ex-lover who has resurfaced in her life.
Tagline – A comedy that doesn’t let principles stand in the way of progress.
Runtime: 1 Hour 37 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Verdict: Overly Styled
Story: Submarine starts with school boy Oliver Tate (Roberts) telling his life story, well how he sees life, he lives a normal life, mostly an outsider, but not bullied anymore, his parents Lloyd (Taylor) and Jill (Hawkins) are in a loveless marriage, while he is trying to win the heart of Jordana (Paige).
Oliver’s life becomes more complicated when he starts to believe his mother is having an affair with her ex-lover Graham (Considine) and he sets put to stop this happening.
Thoughts on Submarine
Characters – Oliver Tate is the school kid who is an outsider narrating this story explaining how he sees and copes with life, he starts seeing Jordana who helps change him to become more open, while he tries to stop his mother having an affair with a former lover. Jill is Oliver’s mother that has become distant from her husband and starts hanging around her former lover, Lloyd is the father and is become isolated from the world unaware with hi wife’s affair. Graham is the motivational speaker that’s flair is starting to win Jill over once again.
Performances – Craig Roberts in the leading role is good as we understand his mindset through everything that he is going through, he makes his character standout as odd for the most part which is what is required. Sally Hawkins, Noah Taylor and Paddy Considine bring the experience to their roles and it shows in their performances.
Story – The story follows a school boy and his couple of months in life, which sees him get his first girlfriend and try to stop his family from falling apart. This story is told in three chapters which focuses on each moment Oliver is trying to change for the better, as he must learn that not everything in life was meant to be perfect in his eyes. The idea that a school kid is trying to make each moment in his life, how he envisioned it comes off strange because it shows us just how one view could be perfect, while the other view could see things as strange. The idea he doesn’t understand everything does help make this film feel more interesting because one day he will see that people needing to make their own decisions are important in life.
Comedy/Romance – The comedy in the film comes from moments that are quirky, even if they don’t hit every time, it is the romance side of the film which shows how young love can make teenagers go crazy.
Settings – The film is set in a small Welsh village which shows how together the people are and how easy the popularity of the pupils in the school can rise and fall.
Scene of the Movie – Close your eyes.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – The Graham character is way over the top for the rest of the film.
Final Thoughts – This is one of those quirky comedies I like to talk about, it has moments that will make you chuckle, while showing us what young love is really about.
Overall: Quirky romantic comedy.
Rating