Produced by Portishead co-founder the musician-producer, this scabrous though slight debut feature casts a critical gaze on the ecstasy-fueled club scene. Venal drug user David (the actor) initially steals from an passed-out supplier, then in a later recollection tries to burgle his own parents. Before you can say, he's upside down in the wreckage of his car in a woodland – and subject to the wrathful eye of the Woodsman (Sleaford Mods frontman Jason Williamson). Refusing to extricate David, with impatience toward townies, he is a fractured society embodied: “You’re one of those noisy cunts from up on the heath.”
A Shaky Start and Darkly Funny Confrontation
Game gets off to a shaky start, lingering excessively on meticulously detailing David’s attempt to extricate himself from his seatbelt, while awkwardly transitioning into flashbacks of his everyday life. The bigger point – that the rave-era youth were mainly focused on number one – is clearly conveyed. But these vignettes are too thin to adequately prepare us for what to expect when the Woodsman arrives, enraged after David kills his dog. Still, a darkly funny standoff unfolds – David desperate to escape; the Poacher withholding his jerrycan of cider, intent on dousing him instead in resentful talk. Williamson, projecting heavy threat in the role, is evocative of Michael Smiley.
Stylish Imagery and Music Video Sensibility
Just a single important plot development, but it results in a hilariously staged chaotic run 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 focused intently doing artful shots of insects in the light in the early stages, he now lets rip with the full psychedelic 21-gun salute, accompanied by a wild organ version of Ravel’s Boléro. Game feels more like an elongated music video than a complete narrative, but there’s enough bold visuals to suggest that Minton could emulate Jonathan Glazer, Garth Jennings and others into successfully graduating from the Brit music promo scene.
Game is in UK and Irish theaters from 17 November.
