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.^[2]

Plot[link]

Oliver Tate (Roberts) is a 15 year-old Swansea boy in 1986. 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. However before he gets the chance, Jordana phones him and tells him that her dog got hit by a train. 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.

Suspecting his mother, Jill, 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[link]

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

Production[link]

The film was produced by Warp Films and Film4. Principal photography began on 26 October 2009 and filming finished in December 2009.^[3][4] Andrew Hewitt composed the score and musician Alex Turner of Arctic Monkeys contributed five songs.^[5]

Casting[link]

Around 100 actors submitted video auditions for the roles of Oliver, Jordana and Chips.^[6] Michael Sheen and X Factor contestant Lucie Jones were originally cast in the film but dropped out due to other commitments.^[7]

Release[link]

The film premiered at the 35th Toronto International Film Festival in September 2010.^[8] Following a generally positive reception it was picked up by The Weinstein Company for a North American release.^[9] 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.^[10][11] It was also screened along with 400 other films at the 61st Berlin International Film Festival the next month.^[12] It went on general release in the UK on 18 March.

Reception[link]

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."^[13] Richard Ayoade was nominated for a BAFTA for Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer at the 65th British Academy Film Awards.

Music[link]

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.

References[link]

External links[link]

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

Richard Ayoade
Born	(1977-06-12) 12 June 1977 (age 35) Whipps Cross, London, England
Alma mater	Cambridge University
Years active	1997–present
Spouse	Lydia Fox[1] (2007–present)

Richard Ellef Ayoade ( /aɪ.oʊˈɑːdeɪ/, eye-oh-WA-dee, born 12 June 1977) is a British comedian, actor, writer and director, best known for his role as Maurice Moss in The IT Crowd.^[2]

Early life[link]

Ayoade was born in Whipps Cross, London^[3], an only child to a Norwegian mother, Dagny (née Baassuik), and a Nigerian father, Layide Ade Laditi Ayoade.^[2] Ayoade studied at St. Joseph's College in Ipswich, Suffolk and later studied law at St Catharine's College, Cambridge (1995–1998) where he won the Martin Steele Prize for play production^[4] and was president of the Footlights from 1997 to 1998.^[5]

Career[link]

While in Footlights, Ayoade acted in and wrote many shows. He and Footlights vice-president John Oliver wrote two pantomimes together: Sleeping Beauty, and Grimm Fairy Tales. Ayoade acted in both Footlights' 1997 and 1998 touring shows: Emotional Baggage and Between a Rock and a Hard Place (directed by Cal McCrystal).^[6]

Television work[link]

Garth Marenghi[link]

Ayoade co-wrote the stage show Garth Marenghi's Fright Knight with Matthew Holness, whom he also met at the Footlights, appearing in the show at the Edinburgh Fringe in 2000 where it was nominated for a Perrier Award.^[7] In 2001 he won the Perrier Comedy Award for co-writing and performing in the sequel to Fright Knight, Garth Marenghi's Netherhead.

In 2004 Ayoade and Holness took the Marenghi character to Channel 4, creating the spoof horror comedy series Garth Marenghi's Darkplace. He directed and also appeared as Dean Learner, Garth's publisher, who plays Thornton Reed, a hospital administrator who bears a trademark shotgun and answers to hospital boss "Won Ton".

Ayoade's Darkplace character, Dean Learner, was resurrected in 2006 to host a comedy chat show, Man to Man with Dean Learner, on Channel 4. The different guests were played each week by Holness.

[edit] The Mighty Boosh

In The Boosh radio series Richard played the part of Tommy Nooka in the second episode, Jungle, originally aired on 23 October, 2001. Ayoade was part of the original cast of Julian Barratt and Noel Fielding's The Mighty Boosh: he was selected to play the role of dangerous villain Dixon Bainbridge. However, by the time the radio series transferred to television he was under contract by Channel 4 and was only able to act in the pilot before leaving the Boosh. The part was taken by fellow Darkplace actor and eventual "IT Crowd" costar Matt Berry. He later returned in the second series, to play the part of the belligerent shaman Saboo, where he improvised the line 'an erotic adventurer of the most deranged kind' when describing Kirk, a fellow shaman played by Noel Fielding's girlfriend's nephew. Ayoade continued his association with The Mighty Boosh in the third series, acting as script editor and also reprising his role of Saboo in the episodes "Eels", "Nanageddon", "The Strange Tale of the Crack Fox" and "Party".

[edit] The IT Crowd

Ayoade is now a recognisable face in Britain owing to his role as the technically brilliant but socially awkward Maurice Moss in Channel 4's The IT Crowd. In 2008 he won the award for an outstanding actor in a television comedy series at Monte-Carlo Television Festival for his performance. Also in 2008, Ayoade co-starred with Joel McHale in an unaired Americanisation of The IT Crowd pilot, reprising his character without any changes to his appearance or character.

[edit] Submarine

In 2010, Ayoade released his debut directorial feature, Submarine, a coming-of-age comedy-drama film adapted from the 2008 novel of the same name by Joe Dunthorne. The film stars newcomers Craig Roberts and Yasmin Paige with Sally Hawkins and Paddy Considine. The film was produced by Warp Films and Film4 and musician Alex Turner of Arctic Monkeys contributed five original songs to the soundtrack.

The film premiered at the 35th Toronto International Film Festival in September 2010.^[8] Following a generally positive reception it was picked up by the Weinstein Company for a North American release.^[9] 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.^[10][11] It was also screened along with 400 other films at the 61st Berlin International Film Festival the next month.^[12] It went on general release in the UK on March 18 and was released on June 3 in the US. It won the 2011 London Awards for Art and Performance. Ayoade was also nominated for a BAFTA for Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer at the 65th British Academy Film Awards.

Music video work[link]

Ayoade has directed videos for the Arctic Monkeys ("Fluorescent Adolescent", "Crying Lightning" and "Cornerstone"), Super Furry Animals ("Run Away", which has Matt Berry in the lead role.^[13]), the Last Shadow Puppets ("Standing Next to Me" and "My Mistakes Were Made For You"), Vampire Weekend ("Oxford Comma" and "Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa"), as well as videos for Kasabian ("Vlad the Impaler", which starred Noel Fielding) and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs ("Heads Will Roll").

In 2007 he directed a live Arctic Monkeys DVD entitled At the Apollo, which was recorded at the Manchester Apollo. It was previewed at Vue cinemas across the UK during October 2008 and was released on DVD the following month, winning the "Best DVD" title at the NME Awards that year.

Other notable work[link]

In 2005, he played the role of Ned Smanks in Chris Morris' and Charlie Brooker's Nathan Barley. Ayoade also directed, co-wrote and co-starred (with fellow Darkplace and IT Crowd cast member Matt Berry) in AD/BC: A Rock Opera, and has appeared on T4. He helped write The Mighty Book of Boosh, along with Noel Fielding, Julian Barratt, Rich Fulcher, Dave Brown and Michael Fielding. He is also featured in Paul King's film, Bunny and the Bull, where he plays the role of an extremely boring museum tour guide.^[14]

In November 2007, he appeared in Channel 4's The Big Fat Anniversary Quiz, which marked the channel's 25th anniversary. In January 2011, Ayoade appeared on The Big Fat Quiz of the Year 2010.^[15] In March 2011, Ayoade directed episode 19 in series 2 of Community, an American sitcom starring Joel McHale. Ayoade directed comedian Tommy Tiernan's world stand-up tour, Crooked Man, which was released in November 2011.^[16]

He is set to star in the American comedy film The Watch, alongside Submarine producer Ben Stiller, as well as Jonah Hill and Vince Vaughn.

Ayoade will direct a new comedy, The Double, starring Jesse Eisenberg and Mia Wasikowska,^[17] in May 2012.^[18] He also plays the character 'City Gent' in the show Noel Fielding's Luxury Comedy.^{[citation needed]}

Personal life[link]

On 8 September 2007 Ayoade married actress Lydia Fox. They live in Gipsy Hill, South London.

Filmography[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Richard Ayoade at the Internet Movie Database