Helmed by Portishead co-founder the musician-producer, this scabrous though undernourished debut feature turns a sceptical eye on 90s rave culture. Self-serving drug user David (Marc Bessant) initially steals from an passed-out supplier, then in another flashback tries to burgle his own parents. Before you can say, he's overturned in the remains of his car in a woodland – and subject to the wrathful eye of the Woodsman (Sleaford Mods frontman Jason Williamson). Refusing to extricate David, with impatience toward townies, he is a fractured society personified: “You’re one of those noisy cunts from up on the heath.”
Unsteady Opening and Grimly Amusing Confrontation
Game gets off to a shaky start, spending too long on pedantically chronicling David’s attempt to extricate himself from his seatbelt, while awkwardly transitioning into flashbacks of his normal activities. The central theme – that the ecstasy generation were mainly focused on number one – is clearly conveyed. But these vignettes are insufficiently developed to properly prime us for what to expect when the Woodsman arrives, enraged after David kills his dog. Still, a grimly amusing duel takes hold – David desperate to escape; the Poacher withholding his jerrycan of cider, determined to soaking him instead in embittered discourse. Williamson, projecting heavy threat in the role, is reminiscent of Michael Smiley.
Stylish Imagery and Promo-Inspired Sensibility
Just a single key story turn, but it results in a comically executed chaotic run on the forest trails that dips close to rural terror. Filmmaker John Minton finally gets to go all in with his ostentatious visuals: where he was focused intently doing artful shots of insects in the light in the early stages, he now lets rip with the full lysergic grand display, soundtracked to a wild organ version 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 et al into making the leap from the UK video industry.
The film releases in British and Irish cinemas from November 17.
