Produced by Bristol sound co-founder Geoff Barrow, this sharp-edged if undernourished debut feature turns a sceptical eye on the ecstasy-fueled club scene. Venal drug user David (Marc Bessant) first robs 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 wrathful eye of the Woodsman (Sleaford Mods frontman Jason Williamson). Refusing to extricate David, with no time for townies, he is a fractured society personified: “You’re one of those loud individuals from up on the heath.”
A Shaky Start and Darkly Funny Confrontation
Game gets off to a shaky start, lingering excessively on meticulously detailing David’s attempt to free himself from his seatbelt, while awkwardly transitioning into past scenes of his everyday life. The bigger point – that the ecstasy generation were primarily out for themselves – is firmly made. But these brief episodes are too thin to properly prime us for what to expect when the Woodsman turns up, fuming after David kills his dog. Still, a grimly amusing standoff unfolds – David desperate to escape; the Poacher withholding his jerrycan of cider, intent on soaking him instead in resentful talk. Williamson, projecting ponderous menace in the role, is reminiscent of Michael Smiley.
Visual Flair and Music Video Vibe
There is only one key story turn, but it leads to a hilariously staged chaotic run on the woodland paths that dips close to folk horror. Filmmaker John Minton finally gets to go all in with his showy imagery: where he was focused intently doing impressionistic closeups of bugs in headlights in the early stages, he now goes all out with the full psychedelic 21-gun salute, accompanied by a frenzied keyboard rendition of Ravel’s Boléro. The movie resembles an extended promo than a complete narrative, but there’s enough strident imagery to suggest that Minton could follow Jonathan Glazer, Garth Jennings and others into successfully graduating from the Brit music promo scene.
Game releases in UK and Irish theaters from 17 November.
