Helmed by Portishead co-founder Geoff Barrow, this sharp-edged though slight debut feature turns a sceptical eye on 90s rave culture. Self-serving drug user David (Marc Bessant) initially steals from an unconscious dealer, then in a later recollection tries to burgle his own parents. In no time, he's upside down in the wreckage of his car in a woodland – and subject to the wrathful eye of the Poacher (vocalist Jason Williamson). Refusing to extricate David, with no time for townies, he is a fractured society personified: “You’re one of those noisy cunts from up on the heath.”
A Shaky Start and Darkly Funny Confrontation
The film begins uncertainly, spending too long on pedantically chronicling David’s attempt to extricate himself from his seatbelt, while awkwardly transitioning into flashbacks of his everyday life. The bigger point – that the rave-era youth were primarily out for themselves – is firmly made. But these vignettes are insufficiently developed to adequately prepare us for what to expect when the Woodsman arrives, enraged after David kills his dog. Still, a darkly funny duel takes hold – David desperate to escape; the Woodsman withholding his jerrycan of scrumpy, intent on soaking him instead in resentful talk. Williamson, exuding ponderous menace in the role, is reminiscent of Michael Smiley.
Stylish Imagery and Promo-Inspired Sensibility
There is only one key story turn, but it leads to a comically executed chaotic run on the forest trails that dips close to folk horror. Filmmaker John Minton finally gets to go all in with his ostentatious visuals: where he was hunkered down doing artful shots of insects in the light in the opening part, he now goes all out with the full lysergic 21-gun salute, soundtracked to 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 making the leap from the Brit music promo scene.
Game is in UK and Irish theaters from November 17.
