For a certain sect of Internet dwellers, the name Richard Ayoade means something major. Or at least major enough that when Community creator Dan Harmon recently posted on his Twitter page that the British comedian/actor/director would get behind the camera for an upcoming episode, at least one or two people in your circle of friends probably started hyperventilating at the thought. Well, before sending those friends this trailer for Ayoade's directorial debut Submarine, you might want to suggest they pick up a paper bag.
Based on the 2008 novel of the same name by Joe Dunthorne, Submarine follows the story of Oliver Tate, a 15-year-old Welsh boy who wishes his life was being filmed for a movie. And what a movie it would be! There's a pesky virginity hoping to be lost, some bad ass pipe smoking, a hat phase and even the crumbling marriage of Oliver's parents. It's coming of age, Rushmore style, complete with a random music cue -- in this case, Jacques Brel's "Quand On N'A Que L'Amour" (h/t on that pull to The Playlist).
Which isn't to slight Ayoade's film. The visuals presented in the brief trailer aren't as beholden to painstaking art direction as Wes Anderson's tiny pictures, which makes them feel more alive. Plus, Submarine seems to border on the intense melancholia that the crown prince of twee has left behind since The Royal Tenenbaums. If Ayoade, who honed his visual style directing videos for bands like The Arctic Monkeys and Vampire Weekend, can deliver on the tone presented here (Where the Wild Things Are without giant animals? Just me?) he could have the first hipster hit of 2011 on his hands. At the very least, Submarine looks like the early leader in the clubhouse for "2011 Film to Appear on Most Nerve Online Dating Profiles in the Next 11 Months."
VERDICT: Sold.
[via The Playlist]