Helmed by Portishead co-founder Geoff Barrow, this scabrous though slight debut feature turns a sceptical eye on the ecstasy-fueled club scene. Self-serving drug user David (the actor) initially steals from an unconscious dealer, then in another flashback tries to burgle his own family home. In no time, he's upside down in the wreckage of his car in a woodland – and subject to the angry eye of the Poacher (Sleaford Mods frontman Jason Williamson). Refusing to extricate David, with no time for city dwellers, he is broken Britain embodied: “You’re one of those noisy cunts from up on the heath.”
Unsteady Opening and Grimly Amusing Confrontation
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 bigger point – that the rave-era youth were primarily out for number one – is firmly made. But these vignettes are too thin to properly prime us for what to expect when the Poacher turns up, enraged after David strangles his dog. Nevertheless, a grimly amusing duel unfolds – David desperate to escape; the Woodsman denying his container of cider, determined to soaking him instead in embittered discourse. Williamson, projecting ponderous menace in the role, is reminiscent of Michael Smiley.
Visual Flair and Music Video Sensibility
There is only one important plot development, but it results in a comically executed chaotic run on the forest trails that dips close to rural terror. Filmmaker John Minton finally gets to go all in with his ostentatious visuals: where he was hunkered down doing artful shots of bugs in headlights in the early stages, he now lets rip with the full lysergic 21-gun salute, soundtracked to a wild organ version 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 successfully graduating from the UK video industry.
Game is in UK and Irish theaters from 17 November.
