The work of Portishead co-founder Geoff Barrow, this sharp-edged though undernourished debut feature casts a critical gaze on the ecstasy-fueled club scene. Venal drug user David (Marc Bessant) initially steals from an passed-out supplier, then in a later recollection tries to break into his own parents. In no time, he's upside down in the remains of his car in a forest – and subject to the angry eye of the Poacher (Sleaford Mods frontman Jason Williamson). Declining to free David, with no time for city dwellers, he is broken Britain embodied: “You’re one of those loud individuals from up on the heath.”
A Shaky Start and Grimly Amusing Confrontation
Game gets off to a shaky start, spending too long on meticulously detailing David’s attempt to extricate himself from his safety harness, while awkwardly transitioning into past scenes of his normal activities. The central theme – that the ecstasy generation were primarily out for themselves – is firmly made. But these brief episodes are too thin to adequately prepare us for what to expect when the Woodsman arrives, enraged after David kills his dog. Nevertheless, a grimly amusing standoff unfolds – David desperate to escape; the Woodsman withholding his jerrycan of cider, determined to dousing him instead in embittered discourse. Williamson, exuding heavy threat in the role, is reminiscent of Michael Smiley.
Visual Flair and Music Video Vibe
Just a single important plot development, but it leads to a hilariously staged rampage on the forest trails that veers toward folk horror. Filmmaker John Minton at last unleashes 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 wild organ version of Ravel’s Boléro. Game feels more like an elongated music video than a complete narrative, but there’s enough strident imagery to suggest that Minton could follow Jonathan Glazer, Garth Jennings et al into making the leap from the Brit music promo scene.
Game releases in British and Irish theaters from 17 November.
