Made in Britain: Warp Films at 10

Submarine

Richard Ayoade’s affecting and original coming-of-age comedy.

UK 2010
Directed by Richard Ayoade
With Craig Roberts, Yasmin Paige, Sally Hawkins, Noah Taylor
Running time 96 min
Digital
15

Oliver Tate is a 15-year-old Swansea schoolboy with problems. A pathetic, but calculated, attempt at bullying earns him the affection of his desirable eczematous classmate Jordana, who introduces him to the thrills of pyromania and dictates what he should be writing about her in his diary. Oliver, troubled by the state of his parents’ marriage, resolves to do all he can to keep them together, while trying to lose his virginity to Jordana. The debut feature from Ayoade is an affecting coming-of-age comedy that feels genuinely original, made by someone clearly in love with cinema and its possibilities.