Produced by Portishead co-founder the musician-producer, this scabrous if slight debut feature casts a critical gaze on 90s rave culture. Venal pillhead David (the actor) initially steals from an passed-out supplier, then in another flashback tries to break into his own family home. In no time, he's upside down in the wreckage of his car in a forest – and subject to the wrathful eye of the Poacher (vocalist Jason Williamson). Refusing to extricate David, with no time for city dwellers, he is a fractured society personified: “You’re one of those noisy cunts from up on the heath.”
Unsteady Opening and Grimly Amusing Duel
Game gets off to a shaky start, spending too long on pedantically chronicling David’s attempt to extricate himself from his safety harness, while clumsily segueing into past scenes of his normal activities. The bigger point – that the ecstasy generation were primarily out for themselves – is firmly made. But these vignettes are too thin to properly prime us for what to expect when the Woodsman arrives, fuming after David strangles his dog. Still, a grimly amusing duel unfolds – David eager to get away; the Poacher denying his container of scrumpy, determined to dousing him instead in embittered discourse. Williamson, projecting ponderous menace in the role, is reminiscent of Michael Smiley.
Stylish Imagery and Promo-Inspired Vibe
Just a single important plot development, but it leads to a hilariously staged rampage on the woodland paths that veers toward rural terror. Filmmaker John Minton at last unleashes with his showy imagery: where he was hunkered down doing artful shots of bugs in headlights in the early stages, he now goes all out with the full psychedelic 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 emulate Jonathan Glazer, Garth Jennings et al into successfully graduating from the UK video industry.
Game releases in UK and Irish theaters from November 17.
