Produced by Bristol sound co-founder Geoff Barrow, this scabrous though slight first film casts a critical gaze on 90s rave culture. Venal drug user David (Marc Bessant) first robs an passed-out supplier, then in a later recollection tries to break into his own family home. Before you can say, he's overturned in the remains of his car in a forest – and subject to the wrathful eye of the Woodsman (Sleaford Mods frontman Jason Williamson). Refusing to extricate David, with impatience toward city dwellers, he is broken Britain embodied: “You’re one of those noisy cunts from up on the heath.”
A Shaky Start and Grimly Amusing Confrontation
The film begins uncertainly, lingering excessively on meticulously detailing David’s attempt to free himself from his seatbelt, while clumsily segueing into past scenes of his normal activities. The bigger point – that the rave-era youth were mainly focused on number one – is firmly made. But these vignettes are insufficiently developed to properly prime us for what to expect when the Poacher arrives, enraged after David kills his dog. Nevertheless, a grimly amusing standoff unfolds – David eager to get away; the Poacher withholding his jerrycan of scrumpy, determined to dousing him instead in resentful talk. Williamson, projecting ponderous menace in the role, is reminiscent of Michael Smiley.
Visual Flair and Promo-Inspired Vibe
Just a single important plot development, but it leads to a comically executed chaotic run on the woodland paths that veers toward rural terror. Filmmaker John Minton finally gets to go all in with his showy imagery: where he was hunkered down doing impressionistic closeups of insects in the light in the early stages, he now lets rip with the full lysergic 21-gun salute, accompanied by a wild organ version of Ravel’s Boléro. Game feels more like an extended promo than a fully fledged drama, but there’s enough strident imagery to suggest that Minton could emulate Jonathan Glazer, Garth Jennings and others into making the leap from the Brit music promo scene.
Game is in UK and Irish theaters from November 17.
