Produced by Portishead co-founder Geoff Barrow, this scabrous if slight debut feature turns a sceptical eye on the ecstasy-fueled club scene. Venal drug user David (Marc Bessant) initially steals from an unconscious dealer, then in another flashback tries to break into his own family home. Before you can say, he's upside down 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 impatience toward townies, he is broken Britain 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 safety harness, while awkwardly transitioning into past scenes of his everyday life. The central theme – that the rave-era youth were mainly focused on number one – is clearly conveyed. But these brief episodes are insufficiently developed to properly prime us for what to expect when the Poacher turns up, enraged after David strangles his dog. Nevertheless, a darkly funny standoff unfolds – David eager to get away; the Poacher withholding his jerrycan of cider, determined to dousing him instead in embittered discourse. Williamson, projecting ponderous menace in the role, is evocative of Michael Smiley.
Visual Flair and Music Video Sensibility
There is only one 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 finally gets to go all in with his ostentatious visuals: 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 psychedelic grand display, soundtracked to a frenzied keyboard rendition of Ravel’s Boléro. Game feels more like an elongated music video than a fully fledged drama, but there’s enough strident imagery to suggest that Minton could emulate Jonathan Glazer, Garth Jennings and others into successfully graduating from the Brit music promo scene.
Game is in British and Irish theaters from November 17.
