Produced by Portishead co-founder Geoff Barrow, this sharp-edged though slight first film turns a sceptical eye on the ecstasy-fueled club scene. Self-serving pillhead David (the actor) first robs an passed-out supplier, then in a later recollection tries to burgle his own family home. 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). Refusing to extricate David, with impatience toward city dwellers, he is a fractured society personified: “You’re one of those noisy cunts from up on the heath.”
A Shaky Start 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 central theme – that the ecstasy generation were primarily out for themselves – is firmly made. But these brief episodes are insufficiently developed to properly prime us for what to expect when the Woodsman arrives, fuming after David strangles his dog. Still, a grimly amusing duel unfolds – David eager to get away; the Woodsman denying his container of scrumpy, determined to dousing him instead in embittered discourse. Williamson, projecting ponderous menace in the role, is evocative of Michael Smiley.
Stylish Imagery and Music Video Sensibility
Just a single important plot development, but it results in a hilariously staged rampage on the forest trails that dips close to folk horror. Director John Minton finally gets to go all in with his showy imagery: where he was hunkered down doing artful shots of insects in the light in the opening part, he now goes all out with the full lysergic grand display, soundtracked to a frenzied keyboard rendition of Ravel’s Boléro. Game feels more like an extended promo than a complete narrative, but there’s enough bold visuals to suggest that Minton could follow Jonathan Glazer, Garth Jennings and others into successfully graduating from the UK video industry.
The film releases in UK and Irish cinemas from 17 November.
