It's no secret that i love The Arctic Monkeys, so when i heard that there was a British film for which front man Alex Turner wrote a soundtrack, you can only imagine how excited i was to check it out.
If, like me, you don't quite get why, or indeed how Turner made the transition from catchy chart tunes to tedious , lazy sounding tracks, then "Submarine" is THE most important key. You may think i'm letting my imagination run away with itself, but after watching this film and hearing the music that Turner created, i just suddenly GET "Humbug" and "Suck It And See"...
First of all, allow me to introduce 15 year old Oliver Tate (who does look remarkably like Alex Turner). He reminds me a little of Adrian Mole, if you're familiar with him. He juggles his pyromaniac girlfriend whilst also trying to piece his parent's failing marriage back together. His seductively dark and cool Jordanna describes their relationship perfectly: "No emotions (gay)" The innocence of their childish romance runs alongside alternate adult themes throughout the film exemplified perfectly by Oliver: "Jordanna and I enjoyed a a glorious activistic fortnight of love-making, intimidating teachers and bullying the weak."
The cinematic techniques are breathtaking. I'm no director, but I'm a huge fan of anything remotely vintage. (I stole a box of matches from a cantine once because it was exquisitely old-looking.) The scene "Two Weeks Of Love Making" is filmed using Lomography. Its kind of like the difference between a printing your pictures off a digi-cam, and processing film in a dark room. It it has just the right effect; when the grainy frames of film flicker and stutter on the screen, my heart melts through my ribs. I believe that this feeling that i get from the visual, is what Alex Turner is trying to achieve with audio.
This is Turner's first attept at a solo-career two years after a successful stint in his side-project The Last Shadow Puppets. You can understand why this attempt only reached 35 in the charts. On it's own, the soundtrack is somewhat soporific and not at all enthusing or catchy. However when you couple it with the meltingly romantic scenes of Submarine, it transforms into something achingly beautiful
I truly believe that this film had a huge influence on steering the direction of Turner and The Arctic Monkeys, and that he spent the last two years imitating this style. If you think humbug or suck it and see are a little boring, then that may be because Turner has these images in his mind when writing them, without the benefit of which, many listeners would interpret as lazy and slow paces rather than nostalgic and traditionally romantic.
----------------------If you're into motifs, symbolism, analyzing films and don't mind the odd spoiler, then feel free to keep reading. If not, then I'd advise you stop here because i wouldn't want to ruin such a brilliant film for you---------------------
It's not just a great film for it's soundtrack. It's also drenched in motifs. The reoccuring references to water suggest it is symbolic for oppression. Oliver's heartbreaking dreams of drowning in a bath when his romance hits tragedy. His alternate universe falls naturally to Oliver's father, who is rather by construction than coincidence, a marine biologist. He makes several references to the ocean being 6 feet deep, suggesting that the water symbolises the opression of his marriage. I also noticed small details such as Jordanna and Oliver sitting in an empty bath together, and that she makes him walk into the ocean in his school trousers. You cannot fail to notice the poster depicting Oliver struggling to keep his head above water, and the title suggests that he is learning to adapt to being submerged. Alternately, the presence of light suggests the introduction of happiness. This appears in the film subtely, such as the light flickering at Jordana's mom's last Christmas dinner. Other times, it is blaringly obvious, such as the fact that Jordanna is intregued by fire, and therefore many of her scenes involve fireworks or setting something alight. During intimate moments with Oliver, she even sets his leg hair on fire, a sweet and finely placed touch. The promise of renewed happiness appeals to his mother, whose former flame, Graham claims he can see light and colours around people. Oliver says that is his dad had an aurua, it would be the colour of egg shell, putting the context of his parent's marriage nicely. Oliver says that the light in his parent's bedroom is vital in his 'investigation' as the dimmer switch indicates that they had slept together. All this neatly ties together the intense motifs that make the film so interesting to watch.
Finally, it's a British comedy, so it's side splittingly funny whilst still maintaining it's moments of drama and solemnity. Submarine is my new favourite film, so it pleases to me give it a rating of;
10/10
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