Helmed by Portishead co-founder Geoff Barrow, this sharp-edged if undernourished debut feature casts a critical gaze on the ecstasy-fueled club scene. Venal drug user David (the actor) first robs an passed-out supplier, then in another flashback tries to break into his own family home. In no time, he's overturned in the remains of his car in a woodland – and subject to the angry eye of the Poacher (vocalist Jason Williamson). Refusing to extricate David, with impatience toward city dwellers, he is a fractured society personified: “You’re one of those noisy cunts from up on the heath.”
A Shaky Start and Grimly Amusing Duel
The film begins uncertainly, 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 bigger point – that the rave-era youth 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 turns up, fuming after David strangles his dog. Nevertheless, a grimly amusing standoff unfolds – David desperate to escape; 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.
Visual Flair and Promo-Inspired Sensibility
Just a single important plot development, but it leads to a hilariously staged rampage on the forest trails that dips close to rural terror. Director John Minton at last unleashes with his showy imagery: where he was focused intently doing artful shots of bugs in headlights in the early stages, he now lets rip with the full lysergic 21-gun salute, accompanied by a frenzied keyboard rendition of Ravel’s Boléro. Game feels more like an elongated music video than a complete narrative, but there’s enough strident imagery to suggest that Minton could emulate Jonathan Glazer, Garth Jennings et al into successfully graduating from the Brit music promo scene.
Game is in UK and Irish theaters from November 17.
