Produced by Portishead co-founder the musician-producer, this scabrous though undernourished debut feature casts a critical gaze on the ecstasy-fueled club scene. Venal drug user David (the actor) first robs an passed-out supplier, then in a later recollection tries to break into his own parents. Before you can say, he's overturned in the wreckage of his car in a forest – and subject to the wrathful eye of the Woodsman (Sleaford Mods frontman Jason Williamson). Declining to free 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 Duel
Game gets off to a shaky start, spending too long on pedantically chronicling David’s attempt to extricate himself from his seatbelt, while clumsily segueing into past scenes of his normal activities. The bigger point – that the ecstasy generation were primarily out for number one – is firmly made. But these vignettes are insufficiently developed to properly prime us for what to expect when the Poacher turns up, enraged after David strangles his dog. Nevertheless, a darkly funny duel takes hold – David eager to get away; the Woodsman withholding his jerrycan of cider, intent on dousing him instead in resentful talk. Williamson, exuding heavy threat in the role, is evocative of Michael Smiley.
Visual Flair and Promo-Inspired Sensibility
There is only one key story turn, but it results in a hilariously staged rampage on the forest trails that dips close to folk horror. Filmmaker John Minton at last unleashes with his showy imagery: where he was focused intently doing impressionistic closeups of bugs in headlights 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 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.
The film releases in UK and Irish theaters from November 17.
