Produced by Portishead co-founder Geoff Barrow, this sharp-edged if slight debut feature turns a sceptical eye on 90s rave culture. Venal pillhead David (the actor) initially steals from an passed-out supplier, 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 woodland – and subject to the angry eye of the Poacher (vocalist Jason Williamson). Declining to free David, with impatience toward city dwellers, he is a fractured society embodied: “You’re one of those noisy cunts from up on the heath.”
Unsteady Opening and Darkly Funny Duel
Game gets off to a shaky start, spending too long on meticulously detailing David’s attempt to extricate himself from his seatbelt, while awkwardly transitioning into past scenes of his normal activities. The bigger point – that the rave-era youth 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, fuming after David kills his dog. Still, a grimly amusing standoff takes hold – David eager to get away; the Poacher withholding his jerrycan of scrumpy, 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 Vibe
There is only one key story turn, but it leads to a comically executed rampage on the forest trails that veers toward rural terror. Filmmaker John Minton at last unleashes with his showy imagery: where he was hunkered down doing artful shots of insects in the light in the early stages, he now lets rip with the full lysergic 21-gun salute, accompanied by a frenzied keyboard rendition of Ravel’s Boléro. The movie resembles an elongated music video than a complete narrative, but there’s enough bold visuals 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 cinemas from 17 November.
