Helmed by Bristol sound co-founder Geoff Barrow, this scabrous if undernourished first film casts a critical gaze on 90s rave culture. Venal pillhead David (Marc Bessant) first robs an unconscious dealer, then in a later recollection tries to break into his own parents. In no time, he's upside down in the wreckage of his car in a woodland – and subject to the angry eye of the Woodsman (vocalist Jason Williamson). Declining to free David, with no time for city dwellers, he is a fractured society personified: “You’re one of those loud individuals from up on the heath.”
Unsteady Opening and Grimly Amusing Duel
The film begins uncertainly, spending too long on pedantically chronicling David’s attempt to extricate himself from his safety harness, while awkwardly transitioning into past scenes of his normal activities. The bigger point – that the rave-era youth were mainly focused on themselves – is clearly conveyed. But these brief episodes are insufficiently developed to adequately prepare us for what to expect when the Poacher arrives, enraged after David strangles his dog. Nevertheless, a darkly funny standoff unfolds – David eager to get away; the Woodsman 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.
Visual Flair and Music Video Vibe
Just a single important plot development, but it leads to a comically executed chaotic run on the woodland paths that dips close to rural terror. Filmmaker John Minton finally gets to go all in with his showy imagery: where he was focused intently doing artful shots of bugs in headlights in the opening part, he now lets rip with the full lysergic grand display, soundtracked to a wild organ version of Ravel’s Boléro. Game feels more like an elongated music video than a complete narrative, but there’s enough bold visuals to suggest that Minton could follow Jonathan Glazer, Garth Jennings et al into successfully graduating from the UK video industry.
The film is in British and Irish cinemas from November 17.
