Produced by Portishead co-founder Geoff Barrow, this sharp-edged though undernourished debut feature turns a sceptical eye on the ecstasy-fueled club scene. Venal drug user David (the actor) first robs an unconscious dealer, then in another flashback tries to burgle his own family home. In no time, 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). Declining to free David, with impatience toward townies, he is a fractured society embodied: “You’re one of those loud individuals from up on the heath.”
A Shaky Start and Darkly Funny Duel
The film begins uncertainly, lingering excessively on pedantically chronicling David’s attempt to free himself from his safety harness, while awkwardly transitioning into flashbacks of his normal activities. The bigger point – that the ecstasy generation were mainly focused on themselves – is clearly conveyed. But these vignettes are insufficiently developed to adequately prepare us for what to expect when the Woodsman turns up, fuming after David strangles his dog. Nevertheless, a grimly amusing standoff takes hold – David eager to get away; the Woodsman denying his container of scrumpy, determined to dousing him instead in embittered discourse. Williamson, exuding ponderous menace in the role, is evocative of Michael Smiley.
Visual Flair and Promo-Inspired Sensibility
There is only one key story turn, but it results in a comically executed chaotic run on the forest trails that veers toward folk horror. Director John Minton at last unleashes with his ostentatious visuals: where he was hunkered down doing artful shots of bugs in headlights in the early stages, he now lets rip 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 fully fledged drama, but there’s enough strident imagery to suggest that Minton could emulate Jonathan Glazer, Garth Jennings et al into successfully graduating from the Brit music promo scene.
The film releases in British and Irish theaters from 17 November.
