Produced by Bristol sound co-founder Geoff Barrow, this scabrous if slight first film casts a critical gaze on the ecstasy-fueled club scene. Venal drug user David (the actor) initially steals from an unconscious dealer, then in another flashback tries to burgle 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 Poacher (vocalist Jason Williamson). Declining to free David, with no time for townies, he is a fractured society embodied: “You’re one of those loud individuals from up on the heath.”
A Shaky Start and Grimly Amusing Duel
Game gets off to a shaky start, lingering excessively on pedantically chronicling David’s attempt to free himself from his safety harness, while awkwardly transitioning into flashbacks of his normal activities. The central theme – that the ecstasy generation were primarily out for 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 strangles his dog. Nevertheless, a darkly funny standoff unfolds – David eager to get away; the Woodsman denying his container of scrumpy, determined to soaking him instead in embittered discourse. Williamson, exuding heavy threat in the role, is reminiscent of Michael Smiley.
Stylish Imagery and Promo-Inspired Sensibility
Just a single important plot development, but it leads to a hilariously staged chaotic run on the woodland paths that veers toward folk horror. Director 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 lets rip with the full psychedelic grand display, soundtracked to a wild organ version 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 emulate Jonathan Glazer, Garth Jennings and others into successfully graduating from the UK video industry.
The film releases in UK and Irish theaters from November 17.
