Helmed by Portishead co-founder the musician-producer, this sharp-edged if undernourished first film casts a critical gaze on 90s rave culture. Venal drug user David (Marc Bessant) first robs an passed-out supplier, then in another flashback tries to break into 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 Poacher (vocalist Jason Williamson). Refusing to extricate David, with no time for townies, he is a fractured society personified: “You’re one of those loud individuals from up on the heath.”
Unsteady Opening and Darkly Funny Duel
Game gets off to a shaky start, lingering excessively on meticulously detailing David’s attempt to free himself from his seatbelt, while clumsily segueing into past scenes of his everyday life. The central theme – that the rave-era youth were mainly focused on number one – is firmly made. But these vignettes are insufficiently developed to properly prime us for what to expect when the Poacher turns up, fuming after David kills his dog. Still, a darkly funny standoff unfolds – David desperate to escape; the Woodsman denying his container of cider, intent on dousing him instead in embittered discourse. Williamson, projecting heavy threat in the role, is reminiscent of Michael Smiley.
Visual Flair and Music Video Vibe
Just a single important plot development, but it results in a hilariously staged chaotic run on the forest trails that veers toward rural terror. Filmmaker John Minton finally gets to go all in with his showy imagery: where he was focused intently doing artful shots of bugs in headlights in the early stages, he now goes all out with the full lysergic grand display, accompanied by 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 UK video industry.
Game releases in UK and Irish theaters from November 17.
