I'm surprised by some of the rave reviews of this film. It's good in parts, and I suppose I quite enjoyed it, but it's not a film I shall want to watch again. Which is surprising, because I generally quite enjoy subtle comedies, especially when they involve themes of teenage angst or coming-of-age.
Craig Roberts impressed me. I haven't seen him before, but I though he made a good fist of a pretty uninspiring lead character. Others seem to have found Noah Taylor and Sally Hawkins to their taste, playing the protagonist's parents, but I found them dull and uninteresting. Maybe that was the point, but if so, it passed me by. And the Paddy Considine character (the mother's weird ex-boyfriend) left me cold, I'm afraid.
I found myself comparing it, as I watched "Submarine", with Bill Forsyth's brilliant "Gregory's Girl", made some 30 years earlier. Both films are made from the young male's point of view, with very similar themes of real teenage awkwardness, that feeling of trying to find one's way into an adult world without really understanding it, subtle British humour (this in Wales, that in Scotland). But there really is no comparison: "Gregory's Girl" has stood the test of time, and I still enjoy it. I doubt somehow that people will be remembering "Submarine" with the same fondness 30 years hence.
It's not a bad film, and I think Richard Ayoade shows promise with his directorial debut, but for me, it's eminently missable, I'm afraid.
Craig Roberts impressed me. I haven't seen him before, but I though he made a good fist of a pretty uninspiring lead character. Others seem to have found Noah Taylor and Sally Hawkins to their taste, playing the protagonist's parents, but I found them dull and uninteresting. Maybe that was the point, but if so, it passed me by. And the Paddy Considine character (the mother's weird ex-boyfriend) left me cold, I'm afraid.
I found myself comparing it, as I watched "Submarine", with Bill Forsyth's brilliant "Gregory's Girl", made some 30 years earlier. Both films are made from the young male's point of view, with very similar themes of real teenage awkwardness, that feeling of trying to find one's way into an adult world without really understanding it, subtle British humour (this in Wales, that in Scotland). But there really is no comparison: "Gregory's Girl" has stood the test of time, and I still enjoy it. I doubt somehow that people will be remembering "Submarine" with the same fondness 30 years hence.
It's not a bad film, and I think Richard Ayoade shows promise with his directorial debut, but for me, it's eminently missable, I'm afraid.