Produced by Portishead co-founder the musician-producer, this scabrous if undernourished first film casts a critical gaze on 90s rave culture. Self-serving pillhead David (the actor) initially steals from an unconscious dealer, then in a later recollection tries to break into his own family home. 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 Poacher (Sleaford Mods frontman Jason Williamson). Declining to free David, with no time for townies, he is broken Britain embodied: “You’re one of those noisy cunts from up on the heath.”
Unsteady Opening and Grimly Amusing Confrontation
Game gets off to a shaky start, lingering excessively on pedantically chronicling David’s attempt to free himself from his seatbelt, while clumsily segueing into flashbacks of his normal activities. The bigger point – that the rave-era youth were mainly focused on themselves – is clearly conveyed. But these vignettes are insufficiently developed to properly prime us for what to expect when the Woodsman arrives, enraged after David strangles his dog. Nevertheless, a darkly funny standoff unfolds – David eager to get away; the Poacher denying his container of scrumpy, determined to soaking him instead in resentful talk. Williamson, exuding ponderous menace in the role, is evocative of Michael Smiley.
Stylish Imagery and Music Video Sensibility
There is only one key story turn, but it leads to a hilariously staged rampage on the woodland paths that veers toward folk horror. Director John Minton at last unleashes with his ostentatious visuals: where he was hunkered down doing artful shots of insects in the light in the early stages, he now lets rip with the full psychedelic grand display, soundtracked to a wild organ version of Ravel’s Boléro. Game feels more like an extended promo 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.
Game is in UK and Irish cinemas from November 17.
