FILM REVIEW: Submarine

A story filled with faded colours, broken up with bold dashes of red and blue, Submarine feels like a movie for the Instagram age. It's a film filtered through previous tales of teen longing: imagine Rushmore set in Wales, with a dash of The Catcher in the Rye and you're getting closer.

It's fitting that the hero of this tale imagines himself the star of his own movie. Oliver Tate (Craig Roberts) is 15-year-old who is self-aware to the point of paranoia. Near the start, we get our first glimpse of Oliver's inner narrative when he fantasizes about a candlelight vigil -- a nationwide outpouring of grief -- for his untimely demise.

Of course Oliver's not dead. It's far worse: he's smitten with the helmet-haired Jordana, a standoffish classmate who wears a ruby red jacket that compliments his navy pea coat. She has the smouldering, dead-eyed appeal of an early Christina Ricci. Also, she likes to light things on fire, which never hurts.

Though he tries to arrange a "wonderful evening of love-making," Oliver also has other issues on his mind. He's been charting the frequency of his parents's passions by monitoring the dimmer switch in their bedroom. The prognosis is not good.

Dad is played by Noah Taylor. If you're a fan, as I am, you'll notice a certain irony. Taylor's own breakout roles was as intellectual young men in The Year My Voice Broke and the excellent Flirting.

Sally Hawkins as Jill in Richard Ayoade's Submarine. (Alliance Films)

Seeing him playing this withered, bearded biologist is quite the shock. Also stepping into a quieter role as Oliver's mother is Sally Hawkins, who portrays the cloistered Jill. Don't miss the quietly hilarious scene where she struggles to conceal her joy upon learning her oddball son has actually landed a girlfriend.

Oliver: I have a girlfriend now.

Mom: Really? Do you? Really? Of course, I mean, why wouldn't you?

Mom subsequently exits the room with an awkward "thumbs up," followed by dad, who shares some tips ("Taking your shirt off can lead to an atavistic response.") as well as a romantic mix tape.

Adding to Oliver's fears is the appearance of some new neighbours, specifically Graham Purvis. He's a New Age ninja who offers seminars on the healing powers of light. The leather-clad mullethead also happens to be an old flame of Jill's. As dad gets quieter and mother begins spending more time away, Oliver is forced to choose: worry about his parents or his own budding romance? Antics and angst ensue.

What separates Submarine from being just another cute indie film with a nice soundtrack and ugly sweaters is what's beneath the surface: the Tate family's legacy of depression, a lethargy that sinks in when life spins out of control.

This is where first-time feature director Richard Ayoade is focused. He skips the predictability of an awkward first sex scene and, instead, plunges right into the emotional terrain of a son who talks too much and father who doesn't talk enough.

Rating: A coming-of-age comedy not afraid to go deeper, Submarine rates four mix tapes out of five.

Craig Roberts as Oliver Tate and Yasmin Paige as Jordana in a scene from Submarine. (Alliance Films)