Produced by Bristol sound co-founder Geoff Barrow, this sharp-edged if undernourished first film turns a sceptical eye on 90s rave culture. Self-serving drug user David (Marc Bessant) first robs an unconscious dealer, then in a later recollection tries to break into his own family home. Before you can say, he's upside down in the remains of his car in a forest – and subject to the wrathful eye of the Poacher (Sleaford Mods frontman Jason Williamson). Refusing to extricate David, with impatience toward townies, he is broken Britain personified: “You’re one of those loud individuals from up on the heath.”
Unsteady Opening and Grimly Amusing Confrontation
Game gets off to a shaky start, lingering excessively on meticulously detailing David’s attempt to extricate himself from his safety harness, while clumsily segueing into flashbacks of his normal activities. The central theme – that the rave-era youth were mainly focused on themselves – is clearly conveyed. But these vignettes are insufficiently developed to properly prime us for what to expect when the Poacher arrives, enraged after David strangles his dog. Nevertheless, a darkly funny standoff unfolds – David eager to get away; the Poacher denying his container of scrumpy, determined to soaking him instead in resentful talk. Williamson, projecting heavy threat in the role, is evocative of Michael Smiley.
Visual Flair and Promo-Inspired Sensibility
There is only one key story turn, but it leads to a comically executed rampage on the forest trails that veers toward folk horror. Filmmaker John Minton at last unleashes with his showy imagery: where he was hunkered down doing impressionistic closeups of insects in the light in the opening part, he now goes all out with the full psychedelic 21-gun salute, soundtracked to a frenzied keyboard rendition of Ravel’s Boléro. The movie resembles an elongated music video than a fully fledged drama, but there’s enough bold visuals 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 theaters from 17 November.
