Produced by Portishead co-founder the musician-producer, this scabrous though undernourished debut feature turns a sceptical eye on 90s rave culture. Venal drug user David (Marc Bessant) first robs an passed-out supplier, then in a later recollection tries to burgle his own family home. In no time, he's overturned in the wreckage of his car in a woodland – and subject to the wrathful eye of the Poacher (vocalist Jason Williamson). Refusing to extricate David, with no time for city dwellers, he is a fractured society personified: “You’re one of those loud individuals from up on the heath.”
A Shaky Start and Darkly Funny Duel
Game gets off to a shaky start, spending too long on meticulously detailing David’s attempt to free himself from his seatbelt, while awkwardly transitioning into flashbacks of his everyday life. The bigger point – that the rave-era youth were primarily out for number one – is clearly conveyed. But these vignettes are too thin to adequately prepare us for what to expect when the Woodsman turns up, fuming after David strangles his dog. Nevertheless, a darkly funny duel takes hold – David desperate to escape; the Poacher denying his container of cider, determined to dousing him instead in resentful talk. Williamson, projecting heavy threat in the role, is evocative of Michael Smiley.
Visual Flair and Music Video Sensibility
There is only one key story turn, but it results in a comically executed rampage on the forest trails that dips close to rural terror. Filmmaker John Minton at last unleashes with his showy imagery: where he was hunkered down doing artful shots of bugs in headlights in the opening part, he now goes all out with the full lysergic grand display, accompanied by a frenzied keyboard rendition of Ravel’s Boléro. Game feels more like an elongated music video than a complete narrative, but there’s enough strident imagery to suggest that Minton could follow Jonathan Glazer, Garth Jennings and others into making the leap from the UK video industry.
The film is in UK and Irish theaters from November 17.
