The work of Portishead co-founder the musician-producer, this sharp-edged though undernourished first film casts a critical gaze on the ecstasy-fueled club scene. Self-serving drug user David (Marc Bessant) initially steals from an unconscious dealer, then in a later recollection tries to break into his own family home. In no time, he's overturned in the remains of his car in a woodland – and subject to the angry eye of the Poacher (Sleaford Mods frontman Jason Williamson). Declining to free David, with no time for city dwellers, he is a fractured society personified: “You’re one of those noisy cunts from up on the heath.”
Unsteady Opening and Darkly Funny Duel
The film begins uncertainly, lingering excessively on pedantically chronicling David’s attempt to extricate himself from his seatbelt, while clumsily segueing into flashbacks of his everyday life. The bigger point – that the ecstasy generation were mainly focused on number one – is clearly conveyed. But these brief episodes are insufficiently developed to adequately prepare us for what to expect when the Woodsman arrives, enraged after David kills his dog. Nevertheless, a darkly funny duel takes hold – David desperate to escape; the Woodsman withholding his jerrycan of cider, determined to soaking him instead in resentful talk. Williamson, projecting ponderous menace in the role, is reminiscent of Michael Smiley.
Stylish Imagery and Music Video Vibe
Just a single key story turn, but it leads to a hilariously staged chaotic run on the woodland paths that dips close to rural terror. Filmmaker John Minton finally gets to go all in with his showy imagery: where he was focused intently doing impressionistic closeups of insects in the light in the early stages, he now lets rip with the full psychedelic 21-gun salute, accompanied by a wild organ version 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.
The film releases in British and Irish cinemas from 17 November.
