A teenage coming of age story about an intelligent, sensitive, slightly neurotic boy. It wears it’s influences on its sleeve, but it never feels derivative or inauthentic. I sensed a little bit of Jean-Luc Godard’s Breathless, a sprinkling of Hal Ashby’s Harold and Maude, and maybe even a smidge of Wes Anderson’s Rushmore. While most teen films focus on social status and what’s going to happen at the big dance, Submarine focuses more on family and what the teen’s place is beside parents who might not have much more of a handle on the world than they do. It’s funny, artfully crafted with reoccurring themes and visual queues, and it asks questions of what’s popular vs. what’s right and what we owe to the people in our lives. Also, Noah Taylor is adorable as the slightly depressed, marine biologist father.
Monday, June 6, 2011
Short Round: Submarine (2011) ****/*****
A teenage coming of age story about an intelligent, sensitive, slightly neurotic boy. It wears it’s influences on its sleeve, but it never feels derivative or inauthentic. I sensed a little bit of Jean-Luc Godard’s Breathless, a sprinkling of Hal Ashby’s Harold and Maude, and maybe even a smidge of Wes Anderson’s Rushmore. While most teen films focus on social status and what’s going to happen at the big dance, Submarine focuses more on family and what the teen’s place is beside parents who might not have much more of a handle on the world than they do. It’s funny, artfully crafted with reoccurring themes and visual queues, and it asks questions of what’s popular vs. what’s right and what we owe to the people in our lives. Also, Noah Taylor is adorable as the slightly depressed, marine biologist father.
