Is Harvey Weinstein Aiming His Torpedoes at 'Submarine'? Say It Ain't So
February 15, 2011 · from the Word & Film archive
The Weinstein Company has picked up U.S. rights to Submarine, Richard Ayoade's adaptation of Joe Dunthorne's novel about Oliver Tate — a fifteen-year-old Welsh schemer plotting to save his parents' marriage and lose his virginity, in that order of difficulty. Cause for celebration, mostly: the film was the toast of Toronto. But 'Harvey Scissorhands' has a reputation, and the internet immediately began worrying about the cut.
Ayoade's debut is a precision instrument — deadpan framing, typewritten chapter cards, an original songbook by Alex Turner of Arctic Monkeys — and its comedy depends on rhythm no trailer conveys. Dunthorne's novel supplies the voice: Oliver narrates his own life like a surveillance operative filing reports on himself.
The good news from those close to the production: the film will reach American screens intact, with Ben Stiller's imprimatur as executive producer providing cover. The June release is expected to lean on critics, and the critics will deliver.
Update: released stateside in June 2011, uncut, to exactly the reviews predicted; Ayoade became one of Britain's most distinctive directors. The film and Dunthorne's novel are cataloged here.
