Submarine

[Ian M]

Just a quick recommendation for this wonderfully drole British comedy. Richard Ayoade, who has written and appeared in TV comedies like The Mighty Boosh and IT, directed this adaptation from a book by Joe Dunthorne. A tale of teenage angst and the fumbles of first love set in Swansea - "I took her to my favourite piece of industrial wasteland" - it is full of witty observations about the geeky, insecure world of the mid teens, and the utter strangeness of the adult world as seen from that vantage point - not to mention the unfathomable mystery of their parent's sex lives - clue: the dimmer switch. What is really great about this film is how the story is told. A Bout de Souffle jump cuts? Pah, this film runs rings around that, flash forwards and backwards, zooms and fantasy sequences with a terrific use of sound. Alex Turner proves the point that he is a very good songwriter, heard to full effect without the clatterbang of the Arctic Monkeys. Funny, engaging, touching, with a big nod to the humour of Wes Anderson. Knocks the King's Speech into a cocked monkey hat. Probably not for the cynics, not that there's any of those around here, ha ha.

[Adam Blake]

Saw it and loved it last weekend.