Oliver Tate is a 15-year-old Welsh boy whose life is at a turning point. He strikes up a relationship with bossy pyromaniac Jordana Bevan as he watches his parents’ marriage deteriorating when an old flame of his mother’s moves in next door. Oliver struggles to manage both these aspects of his life and finds out some things just don’t work out as smoothly as in his imaginative mind. This is the underlying plot of the remarkable Submarine, Richard Ayoade’s insightful debut as a director.
The very talented cast led by Craig Roberts delivers an intimate coming-of-age flick much unlike those overly hormonal moronic American comedies that attract flocks of young moviegoers every year. Instead, we are delighted to laugh at and feel touched by the unusual attempts of an eccentric boy to juggle all the important parts of his life. The movie’s approach to storytelling is quite charming in its tender sequences that together with an unpretentious soundtrack add up to an engaging feature about a boy experimenting with overwhelming new sensations. Ultimately it is all about coming to terms with the fact that life is full of obstacles and we have to find out how to deal with it as best as we can.
