Produced by Portishead co-founder the musician-producer, this sharp-edged if slight debut feature casts a critical gaze on 90s rave culture. Self-serving pillhead David (the actor) initially steals from an passed-out supplier, then in a later recollection tries to break into his own family home. Before you can say, he's overturned in the wreckage 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 broken Britain embodied: “You’re one of those loud individuals from up on the heath.”
A Shaky Start and Darkly Funny Confrontation
The film begins uncertainly, lingering excessively on meticulously detailing David’s attempt to free himself from his safety harness, while clumsily segueing into flashbacks of his normal activities. The bigger point – that the ecstasy generation were mainly focused on 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. Still, a darkly funny duel unfolds – David desperate to escape; the Poacher withholding his jerrycan of cider, determined to soaking him instead in resentful talk. Williamson, projecting ponderous menace in the role, is evocative of Michael Smiley.
Stylish Imagery and Music Video Sensibility
Just a single key story turn, but it leads to a hilariously staged rampage on the forest trails that veers toward rural terror. Filmmaker John Minton finally gets to go all in with his showy imagery: where he was focused intently doing artful shots of insects in the light in the early stages, he now goes all out with the full lysergic 21-gun salute, accompanied by a frenzied keyboard rendition of Ravel’s Boléro. Game feels more like an elongated music video than a fully fledged drama, but there’s enough strident imagery to suggest that Minton could follow Jonathan Glazer, Garth Jennings and others into successfully graduating from the UK video industry.
The film is in British and Irish cinemas from November 17.
