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Submarine

Play trailer Poster for Submarine R Released Jun 3, 2011 1h 37m Comedy Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
88% Tomatometer 153 Reviews 82% Popcornmeter 25,000+ Ratings
Oliver (Craig Roberts) is a Welsh teen who has some things on his mind. First is losing his virginity before his 16th birthday. He sets out to woo his feisty classmate Jordana (Yasmin Paige). Then Oliver focuses on holding his family together. His father (Noah Taylor), a depressed marine biologist, seems unequal to the task of preventing Oliver's mother (Sally Hawkins) from succumbing to the dubious charms of a spiritual guru (Paddy Considine) from down the road.
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Submarine

Submarine

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Critics Consensus

Funny, stylish, and ringing with adolescent truth, Submarine marks Richard Ayoade as a talent to watch.

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Critics Reviews

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Leila Moore New Statesman The twee Tumblr-grunge aesthetic of the 2010s is not something I look back on with nostalgia, but Submarine situates itself in this aesthetic without becoming subsumed by it. As its title suggests, the story is satisfyingly contained. Jul 26, 2023 Full Review Deborah Ross The Spectator The beauty of Submarine is all in the details, particularly the script's wry observations, which can be excruciating. Aug 30, 2018 Full Review Nicolas Rapold Film Comment Magazine The movie's conception of the tender agonies and embarrassments of would-be teenage lovers is hobbled by punchline cuts and predictable musical montages (carefree dashes, setting off bottle rockets, etc.). Jul 1, 2013 Full Review Chance Solem-Pfeifer Willamette Week The formative moments of Oliver’s coming of age fly past in a nearly 90-minute montage of memories, hypotheticals, and swooping handheld cinematography. Sep 6, 2025 Full Review Richard Propes TheIndependentCritic.com Sally Hawkins is top notch. Rated: 3.5/4.0 Sep 24, 2020 Full Review Yasser Medina Cinefilia I had not seen a coming of age movie as funny and philosophical as 'Submarine' in a long time. [Full review in Spanish] Rated: 7/10 Jun 24, 2020 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Harry F What an interesting little film. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 09/08/25 Full Review Jonathan K I liked it. The art school side of the film worked for me. Coloring, angles, framing. It’s odd and quirky, weird in a good way. I even got some LOLs out of it. Now the “but.” It’s hard to like any of the characters. Maybe the girl, but definitely not the lead. He’s an unlikable, annoying, narcissistic, strange little dude. Hard to care about him, or about the whole love lost, love recovered narrative. In some ways, it felt like I feel about a lot of Wes Anderson stuff: I love the art, the framing, the quirks, but I can’t connect with the characters or root for anyone. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 09/08/25 Full Review Gareth v A clever, heartfelt coming-of-age film that balances wit, melancholy, and visual style with originality and charm. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 08/21/25 Full Review TracyAnn S How have I never heard of this movie? It perfectly encapsulates first love. That wild, uncontrollable, geeky, "I'll do anything for you" feeling. This movie moved me so much, I created a rotten tomatoes account just so I could give it a 5 star. This made my night! It's one of those movies that you talk about over a nice glass of wine with friends or a new lover telling them they have to watch it. Now I have to see if this Joe guy made any other movies. It really is a mist see! Rated 5 out of 5 stars 08/12/25 Full Review Mason M Submarine was a surprising deep and very human coming of age story. I knew Richard Ayoade as an actor and liked him quite the bit, but I had no idea he was such a a great director too. I'll say that Oliver Tate is such an interesting and unique character for this story and I've never seen anyone quite like him in a movie with all of his strange quirks. I loved Ayode's stylization on the film and all its different shooting styles and influences. This film was spectacularly written too. All of Oliver's monologues were extremely interesting and the plot progressions with the two storylines were spectacular throughout. The scenery of the lakeside town was great to see too. What I really liked about this film was how real Oliver felt. All of his little things he does never felt like some glorified perfect movie character, they all felt like the real quirks of a teenage boy. Submarine is a spectacular debut from Ayoade that was layered, emotional, funny, heartfelt and packed with both style and substance. After this film, I won't be forgetting the name Oliver Tate anytime soon. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 06/11/25 Full Review Fer S Good movie! Well achieved in all senses. Great acting, beautiful photography and style and well thought characters. I would not say this is a comedy/romance movie. It is more like drama/romance/comedy (in that order). Rated 4 out of 5 stars 05/17/25 Full Review Read all reviews
Submarine

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Movie Info

Synopsis Oliver (Craig Roberts) is a Welsh teen who has some things on his mind. First is losing his virginity before his 16th birthday. He sets out to woo his feisty classmate Jordana (Yasmin Paige). Then Oliver focuses on holding his family together. His father (Noah Taylor), a depressed marine biologist, seems unequal to the task of preventing Oliver's mother (Sally Hawkins) from succumbing to the dubious charms of a spiritual guru (Paddy Considine) from down the road.
Director
Richard Ayoade
Screenwriter
Richard Ayoade
Distributor
Weinstein Co.
Production Co
Warp Films
Rating
R (Some Sexual Content|Language)
Genre
Comedy, Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Jun 3, 2011, Limited
Release Date (Streaming)
Mar 6, 2012
Box Office (Gross USA)
$466.7K
Runtime
1h 37m
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