Youth in revolt

Though I’m generally suspicious of anything that generates a lot of buzz, sometimes I voluntarily succumb to hype  the right amount from trusted sources  if I like what I’ve read or heard. Take Submarine.

Based on the Curtis Brown Prizewinning novel by Joe Dunthorne, this dark indie tells the story of Oliver Tate (Craig Roberts), a 15-year-old Welsh boy who injects some excitement into his mundane life by imagining it as a film. So far, so

what, right? But get this: It’s also the directorial debut of Richard Ayoade, better known as Morris Moss in the Emmy Award-winning television series The IT Crowd and as Saboo on The Mighty Boosh. Submarine has not been released commercially in the UK and it’s still unknown whether it will even make it to the masses Stateside. But from what I’ve gathered online, it looks to be a film fit for pop culture snobs, or snobs in general: it’s supposed to be equal parts Rushmore, Election and The Squid and the Whale, with a Serge Gainsbourg reference thrown in for good measure. Count me in.

Where’s your head at?: Anton Yelchin headlines Charlie Bartlett, a misfit who positions himself as his new school’s resident shrink.

Sappy as it may sound, I tend to gravitate towards coming-of-age flicks because I will forever be an awkward 16- year-old. Aside from taking me back to my Dead Poets Society days, however, this movie genre scores big with me because it is generally not driven by Hollywood-size egos and budgets. The best ones  the ones that are Michael Cera-free, in my opinion  are quiet little interludes that feel like you stumbled upon them. Here are three more that, hype or no hype, do it for me.

‘It’s kind of a funny story’

The cast: Keir Gilchrist, Zach Galifianakis, Emma Roberts, Lauren Graham The plot: A suicidal high school junior, wanting to escape his stressful life, goes on a five-day journey of self-discovery after checking into a psychiatric ward.

The draw: The movie stays loyal to the 2006 Ned Vizzini book from which it was adapted and is funny without being desperate for laughs. Keir Gilchrist, as Craig, manages to combine teenage naivete and adult-like wisdom, while Emma Roberts comes into her own. With music curated by Broken Social Scene, It’s Kind of a Funny Story is a feel-good film that makes it seem like all the real crazies are outside.

The social network: Eva Amurri, Jesse Eisenberg, Jason Ritter and Sebastian Stan in The Education of Charlie Banks

‘Charlie Bartlett’

The cast: Anton Yelchin, Robert Downey Jr., Kat Dennings

The plot: A private school kid is expelled and starts life at a public high school, where he is bullied despite being cheerful and friendly. He then becomes the resident shrink to his fellow students, selling prescription drugs on the side The draw: Anton Yelchin, as the charming yet mischievous lead character, is nothing short of perfect, balancing physical comedy with more nuanced acting. Robert Downey Jr.’s laissez-faire Principal Gardner conveys a wide range of emotions as

Charlie’s nemesis, and the scenes involving drugs and alcohol seem to draw eerie parallels to his past. Kat Dennings, who plays the girl who is out to win our hero’s heart, happens to be the principal’s daughter; she plays that part right.

‘The education of Charlie Banks’

Rolling in the deep: Craig Roberts as Oliver Tate and Yasmin Paige as Jordana Bevan in Richard Ayoade’s Submarine, a crowd favorite at the 2010 Toronto Film Festival

The cast: Jesse Eisenberg, Jason Ritter, Eva Amurri, Sebastian Stan

The plot: A teen witnesses a bully beat up two other boys and rats him out to the cops. He is forced to face his past when the same hothead shows up in his college dorm room.

The draw: Set in late ’70s-early ’80s New York, The Education of Charlie Banks marks the surprisingly decent directorial debut of Limp Bizkit’s Fred Durst. You’d never think that the oftenloathed frontman would be capable of such sensitivity, but he succeeds in creating a preppy version of The Great Gatsby, complete with a great soundtrack. Of course, Jesse Eisenberg’s geeky charisma carries the film and his sincerity more than makes up for the unevenness of the material.

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