70
Rises above the genre's tired, cookie-cutter competition, presenting familiar elements, such as preternaturally articulate teens preoccupied with virginity, through fresh eyes.
What are people saying?
What are critics saying?
80
In all, this is a movie that is partial to youth as a state of being. The grownups seem finished, as frozen in their lifetime roles as creatures out of myth or the Bible. But Oliver and Jordana have the freedom to go anywhere, do anything, become anything. Submarine is an exhilarating surprise.
83
Where "Bridesmaids" has plenty of solid gags, it's not much to look at; Submarine always has something impressive to watch even when its plot is on autopilot.
75
Slant Magazine by Jesse Cataldo
It cheats a little, using a mix of amateurish extreme close-ups and striking Welsh industrial vistas to substitute for real technical proficiency, but also applies more formal consideration than most films, namely teen-centered comedies, ever do.
70
The Hollywood Reporter by John DeFore
Writer-director Richard Ayoade's feature debut is witty and quirky, with a gripping performance by Paddy Considine.
60
Village Voice by Nick Pinkerton
Though Submarine isn't a dull head-movie, amid the bells and whistles, Roberts seems less its star than its cameraman.
50
Entertainment Weekly by Owen Gleiberman
The film is so self-conscious it seems to be dictating your every reaction.
70
Boxoffice Magazine by Ray Greene
An auspicious, controlled and altogether droll debut film that resembles Wes Anderson's "Rushmore" without being derived from it.
25
The movie knocks itself unconscious trying to be offbeat, but instead of cinematic heart, the director self-indulges in cinematic art, drowning the whole thing in freeze frames, slow-motion and color-coding, owing everything he knows to the worst of Jean-Luc Godard and Wes Anderson.