Produced by Bristol sound co-founder Geoff Barrow, this scabrous though undernourished debut feature turns a sceptical eye on 90s rave culture. Venal pillhead David (Marc Bessant) first robs an unconscious dealer, then in another flashback tries to burgle his own family home. Before you can say, he's upside down in the wreckage of his car in a forest – and subject to the angry eye of the Poacher (vocalist Jason Williamson). Refusing to extricate David, with no time for townies, he is broken Britain embodied: “You’re one of those noisy cunts from up on the heath.”
A Shaky Start and Darkly Funny Confrontation
The film begins uncertainly, lingering excessively on pedantically chronicling David’s attempt to free himself from his safety harness, while clumsily segueing into flashbacks of his everyday life. The bigger point – that the rave-era youth were mainly focused on themselves – is clearly conveyed. But these brief episodes are too thin to properly prime us for what to expect when the Woodsman turns up, fuming after David kills his dog. Still, a grimly amusing standoff takes hold – David eager to get away; the Woodsman denying his container of scrumpy, determined to soaking him instead in resentful talk. Williamson, exuding ponderous menace in the role, is evocative of Michael Smiley.
Stylish Imagery and Music Video Vibe
There is only one key story turn, but it leads to a comically executed rampage 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 impressionistic closeups of bugs in headlights in the opening part, he now goes all out with the full lysergic 21-gun salute, soundtracked to a wild organ version of Ravel’s Boléro. The movie resembles an extended promo than a fully fledged drama, but there’s enough strident imagery to suggest that Minton could emulate Jonathan Glazer, Garth Jennings and others into making the leap from the Brit music promo scene.
Game is in UK and Irish cinemas from 17 November.
