Produced by Portishead co-founder Geoff Barrow, this sharp-edged if undernourished debut feature casts a critical gaze on 90s rave culture. Venal drug user David (the actor) first robs an passed-out supplier, then in another flashback tries to burgle his own family home. Before you can say, he's upside down in the remains of his car in a woodland – and subject to the angry eye of the Woodsman (vocalist Jason Williamson). Declining to free David, with no time for city dwellers, he is a fractured society embodied: “You’re one of those noisy cunts from up on the heath.”
A Shaky Start and Grimly Amusing Confrontation
Game gets off to a shaky start, lingering excessively on pedantically chronicling David’s attempt to free himself from his safety harness, while awkwardly transitioning into flashbacks of his normal activities. The bigger point – that the rave-era youth were mainly focused on number one – is clearly conveyed. But these brief episodes are too thin to adequately prepare us for what to expect when the Poacher turns up, fuming after David strangles his dog. Nevertheless, a darkly funny duel unfolds – David eager to get away; the Woodsman denying his container of cider, determined to dousing him instead in resentful talk. Williamson, projecting heavy threat in the role, is evocative of Michael Smiley.
Visual Flair and Promo-Inspired Sensibility
Just a single important plot development, but it results in a hilariously staged chaotic run on the forest trails that dips close to rural terror. Director John Minton finally gets to go all in with his showy imagery: where he was focused intently doing impressionistic closeups of bugs in headlights in the opening part, he now lets rip with the full lysergic 21-gun salute, accompanied by a frenzied keyboard rendition of Ravel’s Boléro. The movie resembles an extended promo than a complete narrative, but there’s enough bold visuals to suggest that Minton could follow Jonathan Glazer, Garth Jennings and others into making the leap from the UK video industry.
The film releases in British and Irish cinemas from 17 November.
