Submarine - the Film. A review.

I think that most of you know that this is a film whose genesis came right here on ABCtales. Its writer, Joe Dunthorne, is known as 'spack' in this bit of cyberspace and shortly after graduating from the University of East Anglia, where he had been a regular contributor on here, he came up with a short story about a boy called Oliver Tate. It blew us away. He'd always been good but this was his best so far - and a lot of members told Joe just how good it was.

It was this reaction that prompted him to write 'Submarine'. It's a wonderful book and so I must admit that I approached the film with some trepidation. It's not often that a good book becomes a good film - but Director Richard Ayoade (the guy from the IT Crowd) succeeds.

Oliver is not a teen hero you can love that much - but you can associate with bits of him. He is a loner of sorts, quirky, bright and sometimes searingly honest at just the wrong time. He's also a bit weak and a bit stupid - and that's what makes this story stand out. I wasn't sure that the film made him quite such a shit at the vital moment as the book, but it does pick up the central characters and explore them in all their hilarious, young and utterly human foibles. I went to see a 4 p.m. showing so the cinema was only a third full - but still people, including me, were laughing out loud - and that's always a good sign.

This is an excellent British film. I strongly urge you to go and see it - and if you haven't already done so, then get the book too!