Produced by Portishead co-founder Geoff Barrow, this sharp-edged though undernourished first film casts a critical gaze on the ecstasy-fueled club scene. Venal drug user David (Marc Bessant) initially steals from an passed-out supplier, then in a later recollection tries to break into his own family home. Before you can say, he's overturned in the remains of his car in a forest – and subject to the wrathful eye of the Poacher (vocalist Jason Williamson). Declining to free David, with impatience toward townies, he is a fractured society embodied: “You’re one of those noisy cunts from up on the heath.”
Unsteady Opening and Darkly Funny Confrontation
The film begins uncertainly, spending too long on meticulously detailing David’s attempt to free himself from his safety harness, while awkwardly transitioning into flashbacks of his everyday life. The bigger point – that the rave-era youth were mainly focused on number one – is clearly conveyed. But these vignettes are too thin to adequately prepare us for what to expect when the Woodsman arrives, enraged after David kills his dog. Still, a grimly amusing duel takes hold – David desperate to escape; the Poacher denying his container of cider, intent on dousing him instead in resentful talk. Williamson, projecting ponderous menace in the role, is reminiscent of Michael Smiley.
Visual Flair and Promo-Inspired Sensibility
Just a single key story turn, but it results in a comically executed chaotic run on the woodland paths that dips close to rural terror. Filmmaker John Minton at last unleashes with his ostentatious visuals: where he was focused intently doing artful shots 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 emulate Jonathan Glazer, Garth Jennings et al into successfully graduating from the UK video industry.
The film releases in UK and Irish cinemas from 17 November.
