Helmed by Portishead co-founder the musician-producer, this scabrous though undernourished first film casts a critical gaze on 90s rave culture. Venal pillhead David (Marc Bessant) initially steals from an unconscious dealer, then in another flashback tries to break into his own family home. In no time, he's overturned in the wreckage of his car in a forest – and subject to the wrathful eye of the Poacher (vocalist 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 Darkly Funny Duel
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 flashbacks of his normal activities. The bigger point – that the rave-era youth were primarily out for number one – is firmly made. But these brief episodes are too thin to adequately prepare us for what to expect when the Poacher turns up, fuming after David strangles his dog. Still, a darkly funny standoff takes hold – David desperate to escape; the Woodsman withholding his jerrycan of scrumpy, intent on dousing him instead in embittered discourse. Williamson, projecting ponderous menace in the role, is evocative of Michael Smiley.
Stylish Imagery and Music Video Vibe
There is only one key story turn, but it results in a hilariously staged rampage on the forest trails that dips close to folk horror. Filmmaker John Minton finally gets to go all in with his ostentatious visuals: where he was hunkered down doing impressionistic closeups of bugs in headlights in the opening part, he now goes all out with the full psychedelic grand display, 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 bold visuals to suggest that Minton could follow Jonathan Glazer, Garth Jennings and others into making the leap from the UK video industry.
The film is in UK and Irish cinemas from November 17.
