SUBMARINE

Emboldened by fantasies of ‘atavistic lovemaking’ and heightened celebrity, 15-year-old Oliver Tate (Craig Roberts) sets out to win-over a tenacious, eczema-flecked classmate (Yasmin Paige) and perpetuate his ‘street cred’ employing only his natural cunning and sophisticated vocabulary. However, Oliver’s plans slowly unravel when his mother’s old flame – a sleazy, mullet-flaunting mystic (Paddy Considine) – attempts to come between his disaffected parents (Sally Hawkins, Noah Taylor). The debut feature of director Richard Ayoade (star of Britain’s uproarious The IT Crowd) is endlessly-quotable, wonderfully idiosyncratic, deeply affecting and refreshingly candid in its depiction of adolescence. Noteworthy too are the all-round top-notch performances, dated aesthetic, bleak Welsh setting, and Alex Turner’s infectious acoustic pop soundtrack. Submarine occasionally submerges into pretty macabre territory, but viewers will doubtless leave feeling buoyant. Like Harold and Maude, or even The Graduate, Ayoade’s accomplished coming-of-age dramedy is destined to become a cult classic. (JH) ****1/2