Submarine

http://warp.net/films/submarine

I'd read lots of good things about this independent british movie. But I rarely believe what I read, especially when the 'reviews' come from places like Cineworld magazine. Which, let's face it, just wants to get bums on seats. Instead I sought the advice of my former housemate, who was the only person I knew who'd seen the film.

I was glad I did because she was honest as ever and I value her thoughts in such matters. She basically told me not to expect too much from Submarine. So I didn't. I think my tactic worked well as the low expectations made me like the film, which I'm not sure I would if I'd gone in expecting greatness.

The film has quite a basic premise, british film about a boy who wants to lose his cherry. But there's a lot more to Submarine than will fit into a brief synopsis. The protagonist here is Oliver Tate (Roberts), who does indeed have a deep desire to call Jordana Bevan (Page), the slightly dangerous loner girl from his school, his girlfriend. And yes, he would quite like to loose his virginity in the process. Along the way Oliver experiences all manner of family dramas.

This is where I felt the film stumbled on its path to greatness. If it had been a quirky coming of age film that would have been fine. Or an off-beat comedy. Or a gritty british drama that dealt with real issues, that would have been fine too. But it doesn't work when it's trying to be all three categories wrapped into one period piece. 

Ultimately the film doesn't know what it wants to be. Or if it does, it's aimed too high and overshot itself. The mish-mash created doesn't really work on all levels. It goes from being hilariously laugh out loud funny to confronting weighty issues like infidelity and cancer. This makes for uncomfortable moments of not knowing whether it's supposed to be ironic - and therefore funny - or if it's being serious.

Despite the film's identity crisis, the one thing it really has going for it are the performances. Craig Roberts does the Welsh proud. He may be unknown now, but great things lie in the future of this young man. He's the glue that holds this film together and is a joy to watch. The rest of the cast are all perfect in their respective roles, with special mention to Noah Taylor as I've always liked him since he did Secrets - a most underrated Australian film which also starred Dannii Minogue (don't judge unless you've seen it) - and here he does a wonderful job of having 'the talk' with Oliver. 

Taking this into account makes it all the more unfortunate as I think the film would have fired on all cylinders in one genre, but as all three it doesn't really succeed. 7 out of 10.

Viewing Date - 5th April 2011

UK Release Date - 18th March 2011

Cast Overview:

Craig Roberts ~ Oliver Tate

Yasmin Page ~ Jordana Bevan

Noah Taylor ~ Lloyd Tate

Sally Hawkins ~ Jill Tate

Paddy Considine ~ Graham

Director ~ Richard Ayoade

Writer(s) ~ Richard Ayoade (Screenplay) and Joe Dunthorne (Novel)