Submarine

Synopsis: Oliver Tate (Craig Roberts) is an introspective, dictionary-reading, slightly eccentric young teen. He is determined to lose his virginity before his 16th birthday and with Jordana (Yasmin Paige). Sex is on his mind in other ways too, as he sees his father Lloyd (Noah Taylor), and mother Jill (Sally Hawkins), going through a rough patch. To exacerbate matters, Jill seems tempted by an old flame who now lives next door - Graham Purvis (Paddy Considine), a new-age eccentric

Set in Swansea, Wales, Submarine is a coming-of-age story that gets into the mind-set of young love with real affection as Oliver set his cap at Jordana. We are privy to Oliver’s thoughts and anxieties via his voice-over, especially in the early sections, but fortunately it is augmented with clever visuals which show us his self-pitying fantasy world in a humorous and sometimes moving way, Thus we see him imagine his death, with the entire school, and even the city, in mourning or picturing himself about to drown under the pressure of life, water in various forms being a recurring metaphorical motif throughout the film.

Oliver teams up with Jordana partly to improve his “cred”, but his commitment is real and their childlike perceptions of relationships create difficulties for them. Many awkward moments between the teens are beautifully handled, as they both muddle their way through this learning curve. In one delightful segment Oliver presents a home movie he makes of his early weeks with Jordana. Don't ask me how this was achieved but it captures the sweetness of first love sweetly.

But Oliver’s concern over his parents failing relationship will distract him from being “the best boyfriend he can be” to Jordana (played defiantly but enticingly by Paige) and he lets her down badly when her Mum is dying. Oliver’s dad, Lloyd, is a very introverted man, a marine biologist prone to depression and a complete contrast to Graham. Taylor beautifully imbues Lloyd with a sense of melancholy resignation. Meanwhile, Jill is harbouring regrets over her lost first love, Graham and her colourless life in the suburbs. Hawkins is refreshingly not again playing the ditzily happy soul she was in Happy-Go-Lucky (2008) and her very straight Jill is a wonderful foil to the odd-ball characters around her. Considine, with the awfullest mullet seen on screen in ages, is repulsively wonderful as Graham, the self-styled new-age psychic whose allure motivates Oliver to try to save his parents’ marriage.

The bitter-sweet nostalgia of past love is painfully evoked in a scene in which Jill goes through a box of memorabilia. Oliver speculates that what is happening to him will not matter when he is 38, but seeing his mother obviously affected by past love makes him rethink how he has hurt Jordana, and whether he should apologise… or perhaps, kill himself.

The purpose-written soundtrack of songs by Alex Turner has meaningful lyrics, a pleasant change from generic ‘sound-overs’ used by many American films. There is nothing generic about this slightly quirky film, which is a kind of British relative of Wes Anderson's Rushmore, and with such excellent performances by the lead youngsters, Submarine is a delightful addition to the category of ‘coming-of-age’ film.

 

 

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