Helmed by Portishead co-founder the musician-producer, this sharp-edged if slight first film casts a critical gaze on the ecstasy-fueled club scene. Venal drug user David (Marc Bessant) initially steals from an unconscious dealer, then in another flashback tries to burgle his own family home. Before you can say, he's upside down in the remains of his car in a woodland – and subject to the wrathful eye of the Poacher (Sleaford Mods frontman Jason Williamson). Declining to free David, with impatience toward townies, he is broken Britain embodied: “You’re one of those loud individuals from up on the heath.”
A Shaky Start and Grimly Amusing Duel
The film begins uncertainly, spending too long on meticulously detailing David’s attempt to free himself from his safety harness, while awkwardly transitioning into flashbacks of his normal activities. The central theme – that the ecstasy generation were mainly focused on themselves – 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 kills his dog. Nevertheless, a darkly funny standoff takes hold – David desperate to escape; the Woodsman withholding his jerrycan of cider, intent on dousing him instead in resentful talk. Williamson, projecting ponderous menace in the role, is reminiscent of Michael Smiley.
Visual Flair and Music Video Sensibility
Just a single key story turn, but it leads to a comically executed rampage on the woodland paths that veers toward rural terror. Director John Minton finally gets to go all in with his showy imagery: where he was focused intently doing artful shots of insects in the light in the opening part, he now goes all out with the full lysergic 21-gun salute, 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 follow Jonathan Glazer, Garth Jennings et al into making the leap from the Brit music promo scene.
Game releases in UK and Irish theaters from 17 November.
