Submarine (2010 film)

Not to be confused with the 2010 Danish film Submarino.

Submarine
US Theatrical Poster
Directed by	Richard Ayoade
Produced by	Ben Stiller Marj Herbert Andy Stebbing Mary Burke
Screenplay by	Richard Ayoade
Based on	Submarine by Joe Dunthorne
Starring	Noah Taylor Paddy Considine Craig Roberts Yasmin Paige Sally Hawkins
Music by	Alex Turner Andrew Hewitt
Cinematography	Erik Wilson
Editing by	Nick Fenton Chris Dickens
Studio	Film4 Productions Film Agency for Wales Wales Creative IP Fund Red Hour Films Warp Films
Distributed by	Optimum Releasing (UK) The Weinstein Company (US)
Release date(s)	12 September 2010 (2010-09-12) (TIFF) 18 March 2011 (2011-03-18) (United Kingdom)
Running time	97 minutes
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English
Budget	£1.2 million
Box office	£2.03 million

Submarine is a 2010 coming-of-age comedy-drama film adapted from the 2008 novel of the same name by Joe Dunthorne. The film was written and directed by Richard Ayoade and stars Craig Roberts, Yasmin Paige, Sally Hawkins, Noah Taylor and Paddy Considine. Submarine is Ayoade's directorial debut.

Plot

Oliver Tate (Roberts) is a 15 year-old Swansea boy in 1986 who is convinced that he is an unrivalled genius who is widely loved by his classmates, when in fact he is pretentious and socially alienated. He is in love with a mischievous but straight-talking girl named Jordana (Paige) in his year, and goes as far as bullying an overweight classmate to impress her. One day she invites him to meet secretly after school, instructing him to bring a Polaroid camera and a diary. She takes pictures of them kissing, but it turns out to be a plan to make her ex-boyfriend jealous. The plan backfires, the two are publicly bullied, and Oliver is beaten up for refusing to call Jordana a "massive slut". Walking home after their ordeal, she takes his hand and they kiss, and Oliver quickly establishes Jordana as his girlfriend.

At home, Oliver becomes concerned that the relationship and sex life of his parents is falling apart and that his dad (Taylor) is depressed. Worse yet, new age guru Graham (Considine), an ex-boyfriend of his mother's (Hawkins), has moved in next door, and his seductive and flirtatious character is rousing Oliver's suspicions.

Meanwhile Oliver's relationship with Jordana is growing, but he learns that her mother has developed a potentially fatal brain tumour. Oliver considers poisoning Jordana's beloved dog to make the death of her mother less painful. Later, he attends an early Christmas dinner at Jordana's house and he witnesses her father break down. Unsettled, he decides that the Jordana he loves is at risk because the emotional events surrounding her will "make her gooey on the inside". He cuts off contact with Jordana because he thinks it will make her ordeal easier, an example of his unintentionally cruel and incompetent social methods.

Suspecting his mother and Graham are having an affair, and seeing that his father is depressed Oliver attempts to repair his parent's relationship. One night he finds that his mother and Graham have gone to the beach. He tracks them down there, and whilst searching for them on the crowded shore, sees Jordana with a new boyfriend. Heartbroken, he heads home, but on the way back, sees his mother with Graham, and assumes the worst. Enraged, he breaks into Graham's house, gets drunk, and commits minor acts of vandalism. When Graham comes home, he finds Oliver but returns him home with minimal fuss. The next morning, Oliver awakens to see that both his parents aren't angry with him, and are reconciling, although his mother admits that she gave Graham a handjob.

However, Oliver is still distraught about losing Jordana and is unable to obtain an audience with her to explain his actions. Frustrated, he is downhearted for weeks, until he sees her on the beach. Running towards her he explains his actions, and learns that Jordana has broken up with her new boyfriend. Together they walk into the sea smiling at one another. It is hinted in this scene that the two resume their relationship together.

Cast

• Craig Roberts as Oliver Tate
• Yasmin Paige as Jordana Bevan
• Sally Hawkins as Jill Tate
• Noah Taylor as Lloyd Tate
• Paddy Considine as Graham
• Gemma Chan as Kim-Lin
• Steffan Rhodri as Mr. Davey
• Melanie Walters as Judie Bevan
• Ben Stiller as Soap Opera Star (uncredited)

Production

The film was produced by Warp Films and Film4. Principal photography began on 26 October 2009 and filming finished in December 2009. Andrew Hewitt composed the score and musician Alex Turner of Arctic Monkeys contributed five songs.

Casting

Around 100 actors submitted video auditions for the roles of Oliver, Jordana and Chips. Michael Sheen and X Factor contestant Lucie Jones were originally cast in the film but dropped out due to other commitments.

Release

The film premiered at the 35th Toronto International Film Festival in September 2010. Following a generally positive reception it was picked up by The Weinstein Company for a North American release. The film also played at the 54th London Film Festival in October 2010 and was played out of competition at the 27th Sundance Film Festival in January 2011. It was also screened along with 400 other films at the 61st Berlin International Film Festival the next month. It went on general release in the UK on 18 March.

Reception

The film was met with high critical acclaim and holds a 87% 'Certified Fresh' rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Critic Roger Ebert gave the film 3/4 stars saying ""Submarine" isn't an insipid teen sex comedy. It flaunts some stylistic devices, such as titles and sections and self-aware narration, but it doesn't try too hard to be desperately clever. It's a self-confident work for the first-time director, Richard Ayoade, whose purpose I think is to capture that delicate moment in some adolescent lives when idealism and trust lead to tentative experiments. Because Craig Roberts and Yasmin Paige are enormously likable in their roles, they win our sympathy and make us realize that too many movies about younger teenagers are filtered through the sensibility of more weathered minds."

Music

Main article: Submarine (soundtrack)

Original songs were written and performed by Alex Turner, the Arctic Monkeys frontman. It is his first effort as a solo artist. The soundtrack charted at 35 in the UK Album Chart.

The original score was composed by Andrew Hewitt, long-time collaborator of Ayoade, recorded at Air Studios with The Composers Ensemble orchestra.

External links

• Official website
• Submarine at the Internet Movie Database
• Interview with Submarine author Joe Dunthorne