Coming of age comedy drama adapted from the 2008 novel of the same name by Joe Dunthorne. Submarine is Ayoade’s directorial debut. Oliver Tate (Roberts) is a 15 year-old Swansea boy in 1986 who is convinced that he is an unrivalled genius who is widely loved by his classmates, when in fact he is pretentious and socially alienated. He is in love with a mischievous but straight-talking girl named Jordana (Paige) in his year.

At home, Oliver becomes concerned that the relationship and sex life of his parents is falling apart and that his dad (Taylor) is depressed. Worse yet, new age guru Graham (Considine), an ex-boyfriend of his mothers (Hawkins), has moved in next door, and his seductive and flirtatious character is rousing Oliver’s suspicions. Suspecting his mother and Graham are having an affair, and seeing that his father is depressed Oliver attempts to repair his parents relationship.

Original songs were written and performed by Alex Turner, the Arctic Monkeys frontman. It is his first effort as a solo artist. The soundtrack charted at 35 in the UK Album Chart. The original score was composed by Andrew Hewitt, long-time collaborator of Ayoade.

Submarine isnt an insipid teen sex comedy. It flaunts some stylistic devices, such as titles and sections and self-aware narration, but it doesnt try too hard to be desperately clever. Its a self-confident work for the first-time director, Richard Ayoade, whose purpose I think is to capture that delicate moment in some adolescent lives when idealism and trust lead to tentative experiments. Because Craig Roberts and Yasmin Paige are enormously likable in their roles, they win our sympathy and make us realize that too many movies about younger teenagers are filtered through the sensibility of more weathered minds. Roger Ebert, Film critic

Refreshing, Urgent and Vibrant, The Daily Telegraph A Charming mix of Quirk and Cool, Vogue