So, the movie Submarine.
Richard Ayode (poofy haired guy from The IT Crowd) wrote and directed this though apparently it was a book first. It's a pretty basic teenage-love story but comes across as quite charming thanks to some unique approaches it takes.
Lead character is Oliver and he wants to date Jordana. He's not crushing on her, he hasn't pined for days/months/years either. He wants to date her because she is available and he thinks he has a shot. So he bullies people because Jordana is into that and they end up kissing and then BAM! they're in a relationship.
At the same time, both Oliver and Jordana are having troubles at home - Jordana's mother is battling a brain tumor and Oliver's parents are growing distant and the chasm seems to expand when a former lover of Oliver's mother moves next door. Oliver does his best at trying to repair his parents marriage but due to this, sacrifices attention to Jordana. That's as far as I'll go because in the highly unlikely scenario of someone reading this blog, I don't want to give away the ending.
The film is very unique and endearing and I think that's because of two things, interesting characters and stylistic boldness.
None of the characters in the film are traditional film heroes - all are very underwhelming and if the film were the real world, none would stand out very much. That helps this film tremendously; they're broken and very imperfect - all of Oliver's plan pretty much backfire and rarely have the intended response. Jordana's prevalence to bullying and teasing gives her a great realism and allows for a huge character change to be possible. Oliver's parents are some of the most boring people ever seen on film and thus when the mother's old lover who is fairly eccentric creeps back in, the household tension grows magnificently.
The style is really where this film caught me. Before the head credits, the film acknowledges itself as a bio-pic and Oliver reintroduces this idea time and time again, referencing the moments in his life and relating to how it'd play out in Hollywood. At first, I was afraid this would be a gimmick but the film keeps it up at preciously the right moment to lend further introspection into Oliver's mind.
The presentation of the film is also quite stylized - the cinematography will change drastically like montages playing out in an 8mm home movie style vignette or lighting that goes from typical to radical very quickly to hone a point. These stylistic choices are what made the movie for me - the film became a good blend of typical and art house and appealed to both the filmmaker and the cynic in me.
So, I'm not very good at reviews and have no idea how to wrap this up.
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