Helmed by Portishead co-founder the musician-producer, this scabrous if undernourished first film casts a critical gaze on the ecstasy-fueled club scene. Venal drug user David (Marc Bessant) initially steals from an unconscious dealer, 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 no time for townies, he is broken Britain embodied: “You’re one of those noisy cunts from up on the heath.”
A Shaky Start and Darkly Funny Duel
Game gets off to a shaky start, lingering excessively on pedantically chronicling David’s attempt to extricate himself from his safety harness, while clumsily segueing into past scenes of his normal activities. The central theme – that the rave-era youth were mainly focused on number one – is firmly made. But these brief episodes are too thin to properly prime us for what to expect when the Woodsman arrives, fuming after David strangles his dog. Nevertheless, a darkly funny duel unfolds – David desperate to escape; the Poacher withholding his jerrycan of cider, determined to dousing him instead in embittered discourse. Williamson, projecting ponderous menace in the role, is reminiscent of Michael Smiley.
Visual Flair and Music Video Sensibility
Just a single important plot development, but it results in a comically executed rampage on the forest trails that dips close to folk horror. Filmmaker 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 opening part, he now goes all out with the full lysergic grand display, accompanied by a frenzied keyboard rendition of Ravel’s Boléro. Game feels more like an extended promo than a complete narrative, but there’s enough strident imagery to suggest that Minton could follow Jonathan Glazer, Garth Jennings and others into making the leap from the UK video industry.
Game is in UK and Irish theaters from November 17.
