Spencer (Finn Wittrock), a Marine fresh off his third tour of duty in Afghanistan comes back home to his loving family, gregarious (if hard-drinking) buddies, and devoted girlfriend (Jessy Schram). But he is, as movie soldiers so often are, haunted by visions of combat, particularly a woman in a burqa. He finds himself alienated from his family, drawn more to a quiet job at a bookstore owner by a veteran. Here he meets Alice (Emilie de Ravin), whose name signals the through-the-looking-glass turns Spencer’s story will take. The two strike up a quick, but just as quickly Spencer is pummeling a partygoer to a pulp and driving his car off the road into a lake.
From here, “The Submarine Kid” takes a magical/fabulistic turn through which Spencer’s life intersects with a children’s story (also titled “The Submarine Kid”) written in the 1950s. Spencer is, like “Slaughterhouse-Five”’s Billy Pilgrim—another haunted soldier with a fragmented psyche—unstuck in time. This is a potentially rich vein from which to mine observations about the persistence of war, the contrast between naive hero worship and the grim realities of combat, and the internal tug-of-war of the returning soldier, but writer-director Eric Bilitch (making his feature debut) dramatizes this psychological conflict in terms of bland stereotypes. Bilitch’s direction is flat and his characters are conceived too broadly to connect.
The actors do their best, but they are asked to play impossibly generic roles. Spencer is a Soldier, not a fully formed person, and so Wittrock has no choice but to lapse into standard patterns of haunted-soldier behavior, including a lot of crying and breaking stuff and looking slightly uncomfortable when people try to tell him he needs help. There is, predictably, a Big Traumatic Event which has precipitated Spencer’s mental break, but this moment is provided without context or understanding and ends up registering as little more than a plot device. Alice is conceptualized a bit more distinctly, and Emilie de Ravin brings some much-needed personality to the role, but the genericness of the overall approach smothers any spark between her and Spencer.
For a magically-inclined story about a severe psychological break, “The Submarine Kid” is surprisingly linear, with no formal disruptions to upset the steady flow of narrative. The story is presented plainly and linearly. The form (the shots, the staging, the arrangement of scenes) would be just as suitable for a lighthearted romantic comedy as it is for this ostensible psychological drama. The film frequently becomes languorous and dull, revealing the solutions to its central mysteries long before the credits roll. It would be interesting to see this movie radically recut (something like what Steven Soderbergh did to “The Limey”). While I’m not sure any amount of editing could completely transform this material—the footage is too drab, the characters too shallow—a significant overhaul could make this a significantly more interesting film.
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What a condescending and middling review. What movie was this guy watching? I was a puddle of tears at the end of this movie. Then again, maybe I am “conceived too broadly” to connect with this reviewer.
Don’t listen to this nonsense. The Submarine Kid was one of the more original and inspiring movies I have seen lately. I found it fully enjoyable, and it kept me guessing at each turn. I think “Red Carpet Crash” needs to consider hiring some reviewers with a bit more imagination and verve. Lousy review of a great movie. I bet this will become a cult classic.
It’s called an opinion. We all have them. You happened to like it. You’re entitled as is the reviewer. Here’s another review that didn’t like it much. http://www.punchdrunkcritics.com/2016/01/review-submarine-kid-starring-finn.html
I happen to agree with the review- very detached acting – vague connections- I was in tears at the end for wasting two hours of my life
I actually liked their more generic roles. It made the movie more realistic and relatable I thought. It better described what a real mental breakdown from a vet with PTSD would go through.
I fall between both opinions. I really enjoyed the movie and the concept was thought provoking.
Most if the characters were rather 2 dimensional, but I wasn’t expecting much more to be honest. The music and dream scenes were dreamy and I don’t think the film pretend to be an in depth essay or study on post traumatic stress disorders.
I would recommend it to my 27 year old daughter as a nice movie to watch with her friends.
So, I wasn’t moved to tears, but I understand what it was not as a film, so there is no point in complaining about something it wasn’t intend to be.
this movie made me realize that it’s okay to have violent PTSD. whenever i have to urge to take out an entire civilization i feel like i am not going insane. Thank you submarine kid for the inspiration. thank you.❤️
i LOVED the submarine kid. This movie changed my whole entire life and inspired me to go out for the millitary just to get PTSD so I can relate to spencer. This movie deserves 5 starts on all platforms bc of how amazing it was. Whenever I have violent urges to strange my wife and kids bc of PTSD episodes. I just think of this movie and realize it is okay to feel this way, and I end up committing genoicde over the tri-state area. Although I do respect redcarpetcrashes opinion, I have to disagree becuase submarine kid deserves oscars in all categories. #justiceforsubmarinekid. although i was disappointed that the submarine didn’t have a kid