It has become a delicacy for film lovers to come across a film which is simple, poignant and inspirational at the same time. Submarine is one such film, set in the scenery of beautiful Wales it follows up with the story of a young school boy who faces dilemma between his first love and his reaction towards resurfacing of his mother’s past love. This might sound simple, bland or may be a generic formula to make a film but over the time I have realized no matter whatever substance you have to portray if you have the heart and honesty into delivering it; it delivers. So did submarine, a rather unconventional look in the mind of a young welsh boy who is trying to find the right place for him.
There are few components of the film which are to be discussed and most important of all to me is the screenplay which indeed makes or breaks the film. Even though a very typical film about a young boy this narrative driven plot explores how he sees life, the narrative is strong and compelling as the boy is struggling to find love between his parents, to stop the rekindled love between his mother and her resurrected love affair and his devotion to the lady he falls for. Intelligently each and every aspect of this film is touched and satisfied, nonetheless it not perfect; the story indeed is fast paced and sometimes it takes a while for the audience to basically digest what just happened and how did it happened. Overall the script is a stand out, because with huge amount of superheroes and action flicks coming out of every corner it is indeed a breath of fresh air for the audience; who intend to see meaningful cinema.
If the cast is discussed then I guess the most important of all would be Sally Hawkins, I do agree that she does not have the very integral role in the film but she is always the star to me in whatever role she does. Which is not without a reason, may be the smalls roles she played in ‘An Education’ and ‘Jane Eyre’ to the leading Characters of ‘Made in Dagenham’ and ‘happy go lucky’, she has delivered. In a supporting role she is perfect match as she plays mother who suffers from obsessing over her child’s self conceived mental illness, lack of love in her marriage and the temptation of falling for her past love.
Noah Taylor is convincing as a father who is isolated in his very home and has his shares of shortcomings in a loveless marriages, which he deals in his own manner of silence. His long hair and beard make him a perfect character for a role where indeed the spouse would soon forget that lover even existed amongst them.
Not to forget the two leads of the film, Craig Robert a prodigy who will indeed become a good actor if he is not exploited and overwhelmed by the growing commercial cinema. Roberts plays his role to the fullest a silent and self absorbed student who secretly peeks to his first crush and lays hidden dark secrets of his analysis of lack of love amongst his parents, his mother’s external affairs and his feelings of remorse and anger at the peer environment he gets. Carefully written character and executed well, it is hard for the actors to keep pace with scripts which are not only fast but also very unique, which indeed shows results in a adverse way as the actors by the end of the film look drained and overwhelmed. Not in the case of submarine, Roberts if noticed by the filmmakers has established himself as a future of British satire cinema. Yasmine Paige, plays her role with a devilish charm for most men it is intimidating yet very attractive she delivers as hard to understand girl for Oliver as her choices of romance and relationship makes the situation hard for Oliver. One of the most interesting scene of the films is the analysis of her personality as she is portrayed standing under the bridge with cigarette in eczema stricken hands and stare which dug right though Oliver’s mind.
