Helmed by Portishead co-founder Geoff Barrow, this sharp-edged though slight debut feature casts a critical gaze on the ecstasy-fueled club scene. Self-serving drug user David (the actor) initially steals from an unconscious dealer, then in a later recollection tries to burgle his own family home. Before you can say, he's upside down in the wreckage of his car in a woodland – and subject to the angry eye of the Poacher (Sleaford Mods frontman Jason Williamson). Refusing to extricate David, with impatience toward 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 Confrontation
Game gets off to a shaky start, spending too long on meticulously detailing 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 too thin to adequately prepare us for what to expect when the Woodsman turns up, fuming after David kills his dog. Still, a grimly amusing standoff unfolds – David eager to get away; the Poacher denying his container of scrumpy, determined to dousing him instead in embittered discourse. Williamson, exuding ponderous menace in the role, is evocative of Michael Smiley.
Stylish Imagery and Promo-Inspired Vibe
Just a single important plot development, but it results in a hilariously staged chaotic run on the woodland paths that veers toward folk horror. 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 goes all out with the full psychedelic 21-gun salute, accompanied by a wild organ version of Ravel’s Boléro. The movie resembles an extended promo than a complete narrative, 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.
The film is in British and Irish theaters from November 17.
