Produced by Portishead co-founder Geoff Barrow, this sharp-edged though slight debut feature turns a sceptical eye on the ecstasy-fueled club scene. Venal drug user David (the actor) first robs an unconscious dealer, then in a later recollection tries to burgle his own family home. Before you can say, he's overturned in the wreckage of his car in a woodland – 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 Darkly Funny Confrontation
Game gets off to a shaky start, spending too long on meticulously detailing David’s attempt to extricate himself from his seatbelt, while awkwardly transitioning into flashbacks of his normal activities. The bigger point – that the rave-era youth were primarily out for themselves – is firmly made. But these vignettes are insufficiently developed to adequately prepare us for what to expect when the Poacher turns up, enraged after David strangles his dog. Still, a darkly funny duel unfolds – David desperate to escape; the Woodsman withholding his jerrycan of scrumpy, determined to soaking him instead in embittered discourse. Williamson, projecting heavy threat in the role, is reminiscent of Michael Smiley.
Stylish Imagery and Music Video Sensibility
There is only one important plot development, but it leads to a hilariously staged rampage on the forest trails that veers toward folk horror. Director John Minton at last unleashes with his showy imagery: where he was focused intently doing impressionistic closeups of bugs in headlights in the early stages, he now lets rip with the full psychedelic grand display, accompanied by a wild organ version of Ravel’s Boléro. Game feels more like an elongated music video than a fully fledged drama, but there’s enough strident imagery to suggest that Minton could emulate Jonathan Glazer, Garth Jennings et al into making the leap from the UK video industry.
Game releases in British and Irish cinemas from November 17.
