Review: Submarine

Hello all! Jessie here with the first of hopefully many film reviews to feature on the blog in the run-up to the Discovery festival. I saw Submarine at the DCA (twice!), and I'm going to share my thoughts on it here.


Submarine follows fifteen-year-old dreamer Oliver Tate, played by Craig Roberts, and his teenage misadventures through school, family and relationships. It's a fairly conventional coming-of-age tale, but under the direction of Richard Ayoade, it stands out against its many predecessors.

The film is viewed heavily through Oliver's eyes, he even muses that he should be 'followed by a film crew making a documentary about a prominent thinker'. From the outset, we are seeing the world the way Oliver does, dramatic and idealised (even Welsh industrial sites become grandiose). Yet, despite his self-declared visionary status, Oliver is actually quite a typical teenager - he makes silly decisions, and is often tactless and selfish. However, his romanticized narration of his life is so charming and intimate that we forgive him immediately.

Ayoade has very cleverly avoided the 'quirky low-budget' look that many 'quirky low-budget' British films seem to have. Submarine is exceptionally cinematic. A simple act such as Oliver and his love-interest brushing arms in a school hallway is captured in a dramatic sweeping shot.
The film is deeply funny, and the quirky comedy manages to be hilarious without being too silly. Many laughs come from the endearing ridiculousness of Oliver himself, as well as those around him, such as his pompous mystic neighbour played by Paddy Considine. The film manages to maintain its humour throughout, but still includes moments of genuine darkness or pathos.

Submarine captures perfectly the teenage feeling of solipsism: when you're fifteen and you live in your own head, you are bound to think you are the most important person on the planet. This is where a conflict for Oliver arises; when he tries to fix his parents' failing marriage whilst simultaneously being 'the best boyfriend ever', he realises the painful harshness of reality and how his previous feelings of self-importance aren't going to get him anywhere. This, for me, defines 'coming of age', and makes Submarine a classic in the genre, and essential viewing for a young audience.