Helmed by Bristol sound co-founder Geoff Barrow, this sharp-edged if undernourished debut feature turns a sceptical eye on 90s rave culture. Self-serving drug user David (the actor) initially steals from an passed-out supplier, then in a later recollection tries to burgle his own family home. In no time, he's upside down in the wreckage of his car in a forest – and subject to the angry eye of the Poacher (vocalist Jason Williamson). Refusing to extricate David, with impatience toward townies, he is broken Britain personified: “You’re one of those noisy cunts from up on the heath.”
Unsteady Opening and Grimly Amusing Duel
The film begins uncertainly, lingering excessively on pedantically chronicling David’s attempt to extricate himself from his safety harness, while clumsily segueing into flashbacks of his everyday life. The central theme – that the rave-era youth 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 kills his dog. Still, a grimly amusing duel takes hold – David desperate to escape; the Poacher denying his container of scrumpy, determined to soaking him instead in embittered discourse. Williamson, projecting ponderous menace in the role, is evocative of Michael Smiley.
Stylish Imagery and Promo-Inspired Sensibility
There is only one key story turn, but it results in a hilariously staged chaotic run on the woodland paths that dips close to 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 wild organ version of Ravel’s Boléro. Game feels more like an extended promo than a fully fledged drama, but there’s enough bold visuals to suggest that Minton could follow Jonathan Glazer, Garth Jennings et al into successfully graduating from the Brit music promo scene.
Game releases in British and Irish theaters from November 17.
