Helmed by Portishead co-founder Geoff Barrow, this scabrous though undernourished first film turns a sceptical eye on 90s rave culture. Self-serving drug user David (Marc Bessant) initially steals from an unconscious dealer, then in another flashback tries to burgle his own parents. Before you can say, he's upside down in the remains of his car in a woodland – and subject to the wrathful eye of the Woodsman (Sleaford Mods frontman Jason Williamson). Declining to free David, with impatience toward city dwellers, he is broken Britain embodied: “You’re one of those loud individuals from up on the heath.”
Unsteady Opening and Grimly Amusing Confrontation
The film begins uncertainly, spending too long on meticulously detailing David’s attempt to extricate himself from his seatbelt, while awkwardly transitioning into flashbacks of his everyday life. The central theme – that the rave-era youth were primarily out for themselves – is firmly made. But these brief episodes are insufficiently developed to properly prime us for what to expect when the Woodsman turns up, fuming after David kills his dog. Nevertheless, a grimly amusing duel unfolds – David eager to get away; the Woodsman withholding his jerrycan of cider, intent on soaking him instead in embittered discourse. Williamson, projecting ponderous menace in the role, is evocative of Michael Smiley.
Stylish Imagery and Promo-Inspired Vibe
There is only one key story turn, but it results in a hilariously staged rampage on the forest trails that veers toward rural terror. Filmmaker John Minton at last unleashes with his showy imagery: where he was focused intently doing impressionistic closeups of bugs in headlights 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 extended promo than a fully fledged drama, but there’s enough bold visuals to suggest that Minton could follow Jonathan Glazer, Garth Jennings and others into successfully graduating from the Brit music promo scene.
Game is in British and Irish theaters from 17 November.
