Helmed by Bristol sound co-founder Geoff Barrow, this scabrous if slight debut feature casts a critical gaze on the ecstasy-fueled club scene. Venal pillhead David (Marc Bessant) initially steals from an unconscious dealer, then in a later recollection tries to break into his own parents. In no time, he's upside down in the wreckage of his car in a forest – and subject to the wrathful eye of the Woodsman (vocalist Jason Williamson). Declining to free David, with no time for city dwellers, he is a fractured society embodied: “You’re one of those noisy cunts from up on the heath.”
A Shaky Start and Darkly Funny Confrontation
Game gets off to a shaky start, lingering excessively on pedantically chronicling David’s attempt to extricate himself from his safety harness, while clumsily segueing into past scenes of his everyday life. The central theme – that the ecstasy generation were mainly focused on themselves – is firmly made. But these brief episodes are too thin to properly prime us for what to expect when the Woodsman turns up, enraged after David strangles his dog. Still, a grimly amusing standoff unfolds – David desperate to escape; 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 Music Video Vibe
There is only one important plot development, but it leads to a comically executed chaotic run on the woodland paths that veers toward rural terror. Filmmaker John Minton at last unleashes with his ostentatious visuals: 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 21-gun salute, soundtracked to a frenzied keyboard rendition of Ravel’s Boléro. The movie resembles an elongated music video than a complete narrative, 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.
Game is in UK and Irish cinemas from November 17.
