Film4
97 min., dir. by Richard Ayoade, with Craig Roberts, Sally Hawkins, and Paddy Considine

Submarine is a true British comedy, heavy on the irony, light on the slapstick. It follows young Oliver Tate (Craig Roberts) through his dull teenage years in South Wales and his attempts to be cool enough to win Jordana Bevan (Yasmin Page). His only coping mechanism is viewing his own life as a film. His grandiose self-importance isn’t necessarily endearing, but you are able to laugh at him without disliking him. The subtlety of this film might be surprising to those who’ve seen Richard Ayoade act in Garth Marneghi’s Darkplace or The IT Crowd, but he controls the film brilliantly for a feature debut, including glorious references to French New Wave throughout, many of which I’m sure I missed. Don’t worry, though — this isn’t pretentious by any means. I saw this film with someone who’s never seen anything by Truffaut, and the references didn’t put them off at all.

Ayoade’s writing is what truly stands out though. Adapted from a Joe Dunthorne book of the same name, Ayoade treats us with a moment of irony a minute: there’s not even half a page of script without something to make you laugh. There’s nothing to make you double over with laughter (the funniest lines would be those that break the fourth wall), but its consistent humor points out the character flaws and makes them more endearing.

Craig Roberts carries the film well, and aside from the odd dodgy accent from some members of the cast there’s not really anything to complain about, though there is a very peculiar cameo from Ben Stiller, who produced the film. The standout member of the cast is Paddy Considine who creates a believable arsehole with great tact. His character, Graham, is so outlandishly narcissistic that Oliver’s self-importance seems thoroughly normal by comparison, yet Considine still manages to keep Graham in the realms of reality.

Ayoade’s greatest achievement with his debut is bringing all of Oliver’s fantasies to life on a small budget — they’re all treated realistically, which serves to point out Oliver’s foolishness all the more. Some might argue that Ayoade’s greatest achievement with Submarine is getting Alex Turner (of Arctic Monkeys fame) to write an all new original score for the film, the music is truly gorgeous to listen to. There is the odd time where you feel that a scene might benefit from an instrumental piece, but Turner’s voice really suits the suitably melancholic undertones of this British coming-of-age film.