Helmed by Portishead co-founder Geoff Barrow, this scabrous if undernourished first film casts a critical gaze on 90s rave culture. Self-serving pillhead David (the actor) first robs an passed-out supplier, then in a later recollection tries to break into his own parents. In no time, he's upside down in the wreckage of his car in a woodland – and subject to the wrathful eye of the Woodsman (vocalist Jason Williamson). Refusing to extricate David, with impatience toward city dwellers, he is a fractured society embodied: “You’re one of those noisy cunts from up on the heath.”
A Shaky Start and Darkly Funny Confrontation
Game gets off to a shaky start, lingering excessively on pedantically chronicling David’s attempt to extricate himself from his safety harness, while awkwardly transitioning into past scenes of his normal activities. The central theme – that the rave-era youth were primarily out for number one – is firmly made. But these vignettes are insufficiently developed to properly prime us for what to expect when the Poacher arrives, fuming after David kills his dog. Nevertheless, a grimly amusing standoff unfolds – David desperate to escape; the Woodsman denying his container of scrumpy, intent on soaking him instead in resentful talk. Williamson, projecting ponderous menace in the role, is reminiscent of Michael Smiley.
Stylish Imagery and Promo-Inspired Sensibility
There is only one important plot development, but it results in a hilariously staged chaotic run on the woodland paths that dips close to rural terror. Filmmaker John Minton at last unleashes with his showy imagery: where he was hunkered down doing artful shots of insects in the light in the opening part, he now goes all out with the full lysergic 21-gun salute, accompanied by a wild organ version of Ravel’s Boléro. The movie resembles an elongated music video 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 theaters from 17 November.
