Produced by Bristol sound co-founder Geoff Barrow, this sharp-edged if slight first film turns a sceptical eye on 90s rave culture. Venal drug user David (Marc Bessant) first robs an unconscious dealer, then in another flashback tries to break into his own parents. Before you can say, he's upside down in the wreckage of his car in a woodland – and subject to the angry eye of the Woodsman (Sleaford Mods frontman Jason Williamson). Refusing to extricate David, with no time for townies, he is broken Britain embodied: “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, spending too long on meticulously detailing David’s attempt to free himself from his safety harness, while clumsily segueing into flashbacks of his normal activities. The central theme – that the ecstasy generation were mainly focused on themselves – is firmly made. But these brief episodes are insufficiently developed to adequately prepare us for what to expect when the Woodsman arrives, enraged after David kills his dog. Still, a darkly funny standoff unfolds – David eager to get away; the Poacher denying his container of scrumpy, determined to dousing him instead in embittered discourse. Williamson, exuding ponderous menace in the role, is evocative of Michael Smiley.
Visual Flair and Promo-Inspired Sensibility
There is only one important plot development, but it leads to a hilariously staged rampage on the woodland paths that veers toward folk horror. Director John Minton finally gets to go all in with his ostentatious visuals: 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, soundtracked to a wild organ version of Ravel’s Boléro. Game feels more like an extended promo than a fully fledged drama, but there’s enough strident imagery to suggest that Minton could follow Jonathan Glazer, Garth Jennings et al into successfully graduating from the UK video industry.
Game releases in British and Irish theaters from November 17.
