Saw Submarine, a cute little Wes Anderson imitator about a strange little boy named Oliver. Unable to communicate with the world in normal terms he resorts to a lingo of dense vocabulary and flatly delivered trivia. He falls in love with a girl who burns things. He is also concerned that his parents are breaking up. Torn between his weird romance and his weird efforts to save his parents, he tries to save both but is unable to really handle either. This film is twee and cute, full of framed shots and details. The film hits the cultural touchstones of typewriters, vinyl records, Woody Allen, and mix-tape cassettes full of obscure music. It cleverly uses colour as both a thematic and as a plot device.
The title refers to Oliver himself. He is a sheltered creature, hesitantly spying with his periscope just above the surface. There is an implication of hidden depth but of course we are let into his iron-clad vessel. He's cruel and self-absorbed, adorable and confused. He's a very interesting kid who we can be thankful we do not know in real life. Water is made a metaphor for emotional intimacy, the ocean is love. The film is extremely winning.
The film is not very serious but it does not take itself very seriously either. It's a sort of magic-show, cunningly unfurling and dazzling at the right moments. Under all of the indie quirk and style we have a fairly ordinary coming-of-age story. There's a bit of novelty when he "redeems" the girlfriend by getting her to confide in him only to be overwhelmed by his new-found feelings of responsibility. He interprets this as missing her dark, troubled nature. He feels he's redeemed her but does not like what he's redeemed. Interesting. It's a fun film. Very full of quirk and whimsy but endearing for all of that (if you're into that kind of thing (which I am.))
I liked this a lot the first time I saw it, but as you mentioned, the pretense is very apparent if you look too deeply past the surface. Still, far better than most Hollywood product.
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