Helmed by Portishead co-founder Geoff Barrow, this scabrous if slight first film casts a critical gaze on 90s rave culture. Venal pillhead David (Marc Bessant) initially steals from an unconscious dealer, then in another flashback tries to break into his own parents. In no time, he's overturned in the wreckage of his car in a forest – and subject to the angry eye of the Woodsman (Sleaford Mods frontman Jason Williamson). Declining to free David, with impatience toward townies, he is broken Britain 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, spending too long on pedantically chronicling David’s attempt to free himself from his safety harness, while clumsily segueing into flashbacks of his everyday life. The bigger point – that the rave-era youth were mainly focused on themselves – is firmly made. But these vignettes are insufficiently developed to adequately prepare us for what to expect when the Woodsman arrives, fuming after David kills his dog. Still, a grimly amusing standoff unfolds – David desperate to escape; the Woodsman denying his container of cider, determined to soaking him instead in resentful talk. Williamson, exuding ponderous menace 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 comically executed chaotic run on the woodland paths that veers toward folk horror. Director John Minton finally gets to go all in with his showy imagery: where he was hunkered down doing impressionistic closeups of insects in the light in the early stages, he now lets rip with the full psychedelic grand display, soundtracked to a frenzied keyboard rendition of Ravel’s Boléro. The movie resembles an extended promo 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 Brit music promo scene.
The film releases in UK and Irish cinemas from 17 November.
