Produced by Portishead co-founder the musician-producer, this scabrous though slight debut feature turns a sceptical eye on the ecstasy-fueled club scene. Self-serving pillhead David (Marc Bessant) first robs an passed-out supplier, then in another flashback tries to break into his own parents. Before you can say, he's overturned in the wreckage of his car in a woodland – and subject to the angry eye of the Woodsman (Sleaford Mods frontman Jason Williamson). Refusing to extricate David, with no time for city dwellers, he is a fractured society personified: “You’re one of those noisy cunts from up on the heath.”
Unsteady Opening and Grimly Amusing Confrontation
Game gets off to a shaky start, spending too long on pedantically chronicling David’s attempt to extricate 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 clearly conveyed. But these vignettes are too thin to adequately prepare us for what to expect when the Woodsman turns up, enraged after David strangles his dog. Nevertheless, a grimly amusing duel unfolds – David eager to get away; 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.
Stylish Imagery and Music Video Sensibility
Just a single important plot development, but it leads to a hilariously staged chaotic run on the forest trails 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 impressionistic closeups of bugs in headlights in the early stages, he now goes all out with the full psychedelic grand display, accompanied by a frenzied keyboard rendition of Ravel’s Boléro. The movie resembles an extended promo than a complete narrative, but there’s enough strident imagery to suggest that Minton could follow Jonathan Glazer, Garth Jennings and others into successfully graduating from the UK video industry.
Game releases in British and Irish cinemas from November 17.
