Produced by Portishead co-founder Geoff Barrow, this scabrous though slight first film turns a sceptical eye on 90s rave culture. Venal pillhead David (Marc Bessant) initially steals from an passed-out supplier, then in another flashback tries to burgle his own family home. Before you can say, he's overturned in the remains of his car in a woodland – and subject to the angry eye of the Poacher (vocalist Jason Williamson). Refusing to extricate David, with impatience toward city dwellers, he is a fractured society embodied: “You’re one of those loud individuals from up on the heath.”
Unsteady Opening and Grimly Amusing Confrontation
The film begins uncertainly, lingering excessively on pedantically chronicling David’s attempt to free himself from his seatbelt, while awkwardly transitioning into past scenes of his normal activities. The central theme – that the rave-era youth were mainly focused on themselves – is clearly conveyed. But these vignettes are insufficiently developed to adequately prepare us for what to expect when the Poacher turns up, enraged after David kills his dog. Still, a grimly amusing duel unfolds – David desperate to escape; the Poacher withholding his jerrycan of scrumpy, determined to soaking him instead in resentful talk. Williamson, projecting ponderous menace in the role, is reminiscent of Michael Smiley.
Stylish Imagery and Music Video Sensibility
Just a single important plot development, but it leads to a comically executed chaotic run on the woodland paths that veers toward rural terror. Director John Minton finally gets to go all in with his ostentatious visuals: where he was hunkered down doing artful shots of insects in the light in the early stages, he now lets rip with the full lysergic grand display, soundtracked to 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 follow Jonathan Glazer, Garth Jennings and others into making the leap from the UK video industry.
Game is in UK and Irish theaters from 17 November.
