Submarine Review

• 25th Jul 2011

Films with a Welsh angle are very few and far between and following the success of Patagonia now have a second film this year set in Wales. Adapted from the book by Joe Dunthorne this is IT Crowd star Richard Ayoade’s debut feature. The film received much coverage when released in the cinema having a certain cool factor given the involvement of Geek god Ayoade and Alex Turner (Arctic Monkeys) providing the soundtrack.

Submarine follows the coming of age of Oliver Tate and his attempts to lose his virginity and save his parents’ marriage all at the same time. Oliver lives in his own film which plays out in his mind and finds himself commentating on the development of its narrative quite often. Submarine opens with his imagining his own death and the mass grieving that would follow. Reminiscent of Amelie throughout this sequence the film goes on to reference and re-play an endless amount of French cinema.

Ayoade is a new wave fanatic and on the commentary included in the extras he happily details all the scenes that for him reply classic moment from films by Melville, Truffaut and Godard. Even the titles and the use of specific colours recall the 60’s world of the French Nouvelle Vague. The true genius of Subamrine though is like the films of Quenttin tarantino it happily retains its own identy whilst actually pointing to dozens of films in the process.

The makers have moved away from the literate nature of the book and replaced that with filmic reference points.  This does make for a different beast to the book but As Ayode states on the commentary he has attempted to stay true to the character by choosing films he believes Oliver would have liked. Many reviews have already commented on the similarities between Submarine and films such as Gregory’s Girl and Rushmore. All the films have very memorable central characters but Oliver Tate has one characteristic that is quite different to Gregory or Max. Oliver is very careful about not standing out at school almost making it a science of sorts. Gregory is very much one of the boys and Max makes a point of standing out no matter where he is. This aspect of his character does make him more real than Max in my opinion and this is to the film’s credit. His friendship with the school bully Chips is extremely believable down to this aspect of Oliver’s character.

The main star of the film thought is the staggering photography by Erik Wilson which makes Wales look astoundingly attractive and disastrously disgusting all at the same time. The DVD commentary that also features Wilson with Ayoade makes it abundantly clear the look of the film was something heavily planned by both. Every single frame of the film is delightfully considered which does without a doubt make you think of the early films of Wes Anderson. The use of all manner of filmic representations and different styles does achieve the aim of turning the literally nature of the book into a filmic interpretation for the movie.

Fans of the book can easily point to certain aspects of the film that may indeed annoy them in some capacity. But for me the film is a triumph for all concerned from the superb direction of Ayoade to the brilliant cast that makes the film work, without a doubt. Submarine is a British film that dares to actually dream in the hope of not just looking like another TV movie with movie starts. Ayoade shows some serious chops as a director as the work he does here is very different to that of Garth Marenghi. His appreciation and total love for film is there for all to see as he handles the story and his young stars with a delicate hand that allowed me the level of emotional involvement I was hoping for.

The DVD itself is a wonderful box of delights thank to Optimum having included a lot of juicy extras for geeks like myself. The commentary which features Ayoade, writer Joe Dunthore and DOP Erik Wison is excellent and the Q and A’s and hysterical motivational video by executive producer Ben Stiller is a highlight. Submarine is a delicate portrait of youth that may not be to everyone’s taste but will undoubtedly appeal to film lovers worldwide. The film is imbued with a fantastic love for film that makes Ayoade a somewhat Tarantino-esque figure that operates in genres that Quentin will most probably never bother with. Personally I loved it and would happily recommend this film to people both familiar and un-familiar with the excellent book it’s based on.

Aled Jones