It’s not easy being a 15-year-old virgin. At least not for Oliver Tate. The love of his life is a pyro that doesn’t seem to know he exists, his parents’ dimmed bedroom lights let him know exactly when they get busy, and the new neighbor used to be Oliver’s mom’s boyfriend. Ah, to be young and melancholy! we are talking about Submarine Movie.
Characters and Crew Of Submarine
Main Cast:
- Craig Roberts as Oliver Tate
- Yasmin Paige as Jordana Bevan
- Noah Taylor as Richard Tate
- Paddy Considine as Jill Tate
- Gwendoline Christie as Miss Gwynn
Crew:
- Director: Richard Ayoade (in his directorial debut)
- Writer: Richard Ayoade (based on the graphic novel by Joe Keenan)
- Producers: Iain Canning, Emile Sherman
Story
Indie films love teenagers. Napoleon Dynamite, Juno, Camp, Election…the list goes on and on. Teens are walking emotional holocausts, so it’s easy for filmmakers to look at a small bit of a teenager’s life and craft it into whatever social or personal commentary they’d like. With Submarine, there are issues of love, disillusionment, acceptance and forgiveness in Oliver’s story. Oliver is a kid that wastes too much of his life trying to get things the way he wants them to be, all the while missing out on what is right in front of him. In his quest to keep his parents together — a crusade that has no real point because his parents are so rooted in their lives that nothing could shift them into a new direction — his single-mindedness nearly destroys all other connections he has in his world. Oliver definitely isn’t one to multi-task; his desire for Jordana is all-encompassing, then is replaced by his need to keep his family together. It’s as if Oliver would rather keep moving through his life rather than actually live it.
Submarine has a definite The Royal Tenenbaums vibe to it, and no wonder since Ben Stiller is one of the executive producers. (Check out Stiller’s brief cameo as an over-the-top soap star on Oliver’s television.) Oliver is presented as a modern day Holden Caulfield; he even gives Jordana a copy of “Catcher In The Rye”. But unlike Holden, he’s not as nihilistic; call him an anti-hero for teens that aren’t quite as disaffected, but instead are just plodding through life’s seemingly endless disappointments. Writer/director Richard Ayoade does a superb job in keeping what could have been a dull affair captivating, and his comic style from The IT Crowd makes even the lowest of Oliver’s low periods engaging. The scenes where Oliver plays out what it would be like if he died, complete with miraculous resurrection surrounded by adoring friends and family, is not only hilarious but it’s as honest a look into the teen mind as it gets.
Ayoade also does a great job with Oliver’s girlfriend Jordana, taking a bundle of quirks and scene by scene turning her into a girl that uses her peculiarities to keep people at a distance so she won’t get hurt. Actress Yasmin Page (The Sara Jane Adventures) lets you in bit by bit, and gives a layered performance that is remarkable for her age. Paddy Considine (Hot Fuzz, 24 Hour Party People), as Oliver’s wacky new-age neighbor Graham, is blissfully warped and absolutely hilarious. But the performance that shocked me was Sally Hawkins (Happy-Go-Lucky) as Oliver’s emotionally cut off mom. After seeing her so full of life in Happy-Go-Lucky, it took me until the end credits to realize who she was. It’s a performance that is kept on low simmer, and it shows that an actor doesn’t need to chew scenery to deliver an amazing performance.
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