Richard Ayoade's Feature Debut with "Submarine"

Up until now, director Richard Ayoade has earned a reputation as staple among the indie world as the go-to guy for your newest music video. He's also recognized for his role as Moss in "The IT Crowd" and a few appearances here and there in Mighty Boosh productions. But now he's entering the cinema big leagues with his first feature film.

"Submarine," executive produced by Ben Stiller, is a film adaptation of the book of the same name by author/poet Joe Dunthorne, who's upbringing in Swansea, Wales inspires the setting for this precocious coming-of-age tale. The story's protagonist Oliver Tate is a fifteen year old lost in the world of puberty and sexual development, desperate to lose his virginity and helplessly observing his parents' uncertain marriage. His interest in a classmate only succeeds to maximize his anxiety by at least ten-fold, while his somewhat isolated observations of the world around him make him question his own normalcy.

Like Ayoade's previous work, "Submarine" is a sharp comedy about those who don't exactly fit anywhere in particular. But the performances by young actors Craig Roberts and Yasmin Paige, as well as Golden Globe-winner Sally Hawkins, promise to move your face to the smiling position.

An original soundtrack from post-punk Poet Laureate Alex Turner of Arctic Monkeys should be reason enough to see the 97-minute movie.

The success of this film could mean widespread attention for Ayoade, who's Michael Jackson-inspired video for Yeah Yeah Yeah's "Heads Will Roll" is arguably the reason the song was sampled in a Super Bowl episode of Glee. He's picked up more momentum with every new project, but still only managed to be a big name in the U.K.

That's not to say his fans would desert him if he did cross the Atlantic...or would they?

But the man has gone from strength to strength. He graduated from the music videos to a full-scale concert documentary with "Arctic Monkeys Live at the Apollo" in 2008, and with the support of Harvey Weinstein, who's to say the future looks dim for such a genuine creative.