Produced by Bristol sound co-founder the musician-producer, this scabrous if slight debut feature casts a critical gaze on the ecstasy-fueled club scene. Venal pillhead David (Marc Bessant) first robs an passed-out supplier, then in another flashback tries to break into his own parents. Before you can say, he's upside down in the wreckage of his car in a woodland – and subject to the angry eye of the Poacher (vocalist Jason Williamson). Declining to free David, with no time for city dwellers, he is broken Britain personified: “You’re one of those loud individuals from up on the heath.”
Unsteady Opening 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 central theme – that the ecstasy generation were mainly focused on number one – is firmly made. But these brief episodes are insufficiently developed to properly prime us for what to expect when the Poacher arrives, fuming after David kills his dog. Still, a darkly funny standoff unfolds – David desperate to escape; the Poacher withholding his jerrycan of cider, intent on soaking him instead in resentful talk. Williamson, exuding ponderous menace in the role, is evocative of Michael Smiley.
Stylish Imagery and Promo-Inspired Sensibility
Just a single important plot development, but it results in a comically executed chaotic run on the forest trails that veers toward folk horror. Filmmaker John Minton at last unleashes with his ostentatious visuals: 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 21-gun salute, accompanied by a wild organ version of Ravel’s Boléro. The movie resembles 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 and others into successfully graduating from the UK video industry.
The film releases in British and Irish theaters from 17 November.
