Produced by Portishead co-founder Geoff Barrow, this sharp-edged if undernourished first film casts a critical gaze on 90s rave culture. Self-serving pillhead David (Marc Bessant) first robs an unconscious dealer, then in another flashback tries to break into his own parents. Before you can say, he's overturned in the remains of his car in a forest – and subject to the angry eye of the Woodsman (vocalist Jason Williamson). Declining to free 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
Game gets off to a shaky start, spending too long on meticulously detailing David’s attempt to extricate himself from his seatbelt, while clumsily segueing into past scenes of his everyday life. The central theme – that the ecstasy generation were primarily out for themselves – is firmly made. But these brief episodes are insufficiently developed to adequately prepare us for what to expect when the Woodsman arrives, enraged after David strangles his dog. Still, a grimly amusing duel takes hold – David desperate to escape; the Woodsman denying his container of cider, intent on soaking him instead in resentful talk. Williamson, projecting heavy threat in the role, is reminiscent of Michael Smiley.
Stylish Imagery and Promo-Inspired Sensibility
There is only one key story turn, but it leads to a hilariously staged chaotic run on the forest trails that dips close to folk horror. Director 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 lets rip with the full psychedelic 21-gun salute, soundtracked to 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 successfully graduating from the UK video industry.
The film releases in British and Irish theaters from 17 November.
