The work of Bristol sound co-founder the musician-producer, this scabrous though slight debut feature casts a critical gaze on the ecstasy-fueled club scene. Venal drug user David (Marc Bessant) first robs an passed-out supplier, then in another flashback tries to burgle his own parents. Before you can say, he's overturned in the wreckage of his car in a forest – and subject to the angry eye of the Woodsman (vocalist Jason Williamson). Refusing to extricate David, with no time for city dwellers, he is a fractured society embodied: “You’re one of those noisy cunts from up on the heath.”
A Shaky Start and Darkly Funny Confrontation
Game gets off to a shaky start, spending too long on pedantically chronicling David’s attempt to extricate himself from his seatbelt, while awkwardly transitioning into past scenes of his everyday life. The bigger point – that the ecstasy generation were mainly focused on themselves – is clearly conveyed. But these brief episodes are insufficiently developed to adequately prepare us for what to expect when the Poacher turns up, enraged after David kills his dog. Still, a darkly funny duel takes hold – David desperate to escape; the Woodsman denying his container of cider, intent on dousing him instead in resentful talk. Williamson, exuding ponderous menace in the role, is reminiscent of Michael Smiley.
Stylish Imagery and Music Video Vibe
Just a single important plot development, but it leads to a comically executed chaotic run on the woodland paths that veers toward folk horror. Director John Minton at last unleashes with his showy imagery: where he was focused intently doing impressionistic closeups of insects in the light in the opening part, he now goes all out with the full lysergic grand display, accompanied by a frenzied keyboard rendition of Ravel’s Boléro. The movie resembles an extended promo than a fully fledged drama, but there’s enough strident imagery to suggest that Minton could follow Jonathan Glazer, Garth Jennings et al into making the leap from the UK video industry.
The film releases in British and Irish theaters from November 17.
