The work of Bristol sound co-founder the musician-producer, this sharp-edged if undernourished first film casts a critical gaze on 90s rave culture. 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. Before you can say, he's upside down in the wreckage of his car in a forest – and subject to the angry eye of the Woodsman (vocalist Jason Williamson). Refusing to extricate David, with impatience toward city dwellers, he is a fractured society personified: “You’re one of those noisy cunts from up on the heath.”
A Shaky Start and Grimly Amusing Confrontation
Game gets off to a shaky start, spending too long on pedantically chronicling David’s attempt to extricate himself from his safety harness, while awkwardly transitioning into past scenes of his normal activities. The bigger point – that the rave-era youth were primarily out for themselves – is firmly made. But these vignettes are too thin to properly prime us for what to expect when the Poacher turns up, fuming after David kills his dog. Still, a grimly amusing standoff takes hold – David desperate to escape; the Woodsman withholding his jerrycan of cider, intent on dousing him instead in embittered discourse. Williamson, exuding heavy threat in the role, is evocative of Michael Smiley.
Visual Flair and Promo-Inspired Vibe
Just a single important plot development, but it leads to a comically executed rampage on the forest trails that veers toward folk horror. Director John Minton finally gets to go all in 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 grand display, soundtracked to a frenzied keyboard rendition 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 emulate Jonathan Glazer, Garth Jennings and others into successfully graduating from the UK video industry.
Game is in British and Irish cinemas from November 17.
