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Home Overlooked Films Tuesday’s Overlooked: Submarine (2010)

August 13, 2013 By iluvcinema 6 Comments

Tuesday’s Overlooked: Submarine (2010)

My pick this week is the BAFTA-nominated directorial debut of comedian Richard Ayoade, best known by many from his work on the cult television series The IT Crowd.

Submarine is based on a 2008 novel and stars Craig Roberts, Yasmin Paige, Sally Hawkins, Noah Taylor and Paddy Considine. It is mostly a “coming-of-age” story about a teen’s (Roberts) first love (Paige). The “B” story center’s around the youth’s home life and his parents’ (Hawkins, Taylor) complicated relationship, exacerbated by the introduction of when a newcomer (Considine).

Please don’t let my rather pedestrian description deter you, although it generally falls into the aforementioned tried and tested film genre, it is worth a look in thanks to some convincing performances by the entire cast as well as the direction of Ayoade.

(Fun Fact: Submarine was produced by Ben Stiller, who would later co-star with Ayoade in 2012’s The Watch).

Although the film is set in 1986, the cinematography really evokes a feeling (in my opinion anyway) of the previous decade. I may be mixing up my terms here, but there is a combined tea-stained, cinéma vérité look to the film that works very well for me.

Granted, this is definitely not a picture for everyone. Although there are quite the number of funny moments, Submarine maintains a fairly dark tone. I recall one review I read, upon the film’s release, having drawn parallels to another similarly themed coming of age tale, Harold and Maude. Now I cannot directly attest to that, having not seen Harold and Maude except for the odd movie clips, it is a very offbeat outing, so if you like your British comedies on the kookier than usual side, then I suggest you take a look at Submarine.

2011_submarine_001

Also make sure to check out Todd Mason’s blog Sweet Freedom for other overlooked titles.

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Filed Under: Overlooked Films Tagged With: craig roberts, richard ayoade, submarine

Comments

  1. Jaina says

    August 13, 2013 at 11:05 am

    Very good film. Really enjoyed watching Submarine. Visually it’s fantastic, but I did have a few problems just warming up to some of the characters.
    Jaina recently posted..A maybe weekly round-upMy Profile

    Reply
    • iluvcinema says

      August 13, 2013 at 11:25 am

      Yeah they were quite hard to warm up to especially given their actions and attitudes. I take it as all part of the tone that Adoaye is establishing. He is an interesting person himself (my opinion based on some interviews he has given in past).

      Reply
  2. Todd Mason says

    August 13, 2013 at 11:47 am

    H&M a bit cutesy, but I suspect you’ll find it interesting (you can hear the mob with torches assembling at that description), as I did, gosh, some thirty years ago…maybe more…(gives a sense of how my memories of that one are a bit faded). This one might be taking on a slightly different set of taboos?
    Todd Mason recently posted..Friday’s Forgotten Books, the Links, and: E PLURIBUS UNICORN by Theodore Sturgeon; NINE HORRORS AND A DREAM by Joseph Payne Brennan; (HORROR STORIES FROM) TALES TO BE TOLD IN THE DARK edited by Basil DavenportMy Profile

    Reply
    • iluvcinema says

      August 19, 2013 at 11:57 pm

      Yeah I’ll put that one on my list.

      Reply
  3. ruth says

    August 14, 2013 at 10:38 am

    My goodness! I had no idea this was Richard Ayoade’s directorial debut! Maybe I have read it before I saw The IT Crowd, which was such a hilarious show. I’ll give it a chance on that account then, thanks Iba.
    ruth recently posted..TV Miniseries Spotlight: The Hollow CrownMy Profile

    Reply
    • iluvcinema says

      August 19, 2013 at 11:56 pm

      My pleasure 😉

      Reply

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