Helmed by Portishead co-founder the musician-producer, this scabrous if slight debut feature turns a sceptical eye on the ecstasy-fueled club scene. Venal pillhead David (Marc Bessant) first robs an passed-out supplier, 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 wrathful eye of the Woodsman (vocalist Jason Williamson). Declining to free David, with impatience toward city dwellers, he is a fractured society embodied: “You’re one of those loud individuals from up on the heath.”
Unsteady Opening and Grimly Amusing Confrontation
The film begins uncertainly, 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 bigger point – that the ecstasy generation were primarily out for themselves – is clearly conveyed. But these vignettes 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 unfolds – David desperate to escape; the Woodsman withholding his jerrycan of scrumpy, determined to soaking him instead in embittered discourse. Williamson, projecting ponderous menace in the role, is reminiscent of Michael Smiley.
Visual Flair and Promo-Inspired Vibe
Just a single important plot development, but it leads to a hilariously staged chaotic run on the forest trails that veers toward rural terror. Director John Minton at last unleashes with his showy imagery: where he was hunkered down doing artful shots of bugs in headlights in the opening part, 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 extended promo than a complete narrative, but there’s enough bold visuals to suggest that Minton could follow Jonathan Glazer, Garth Jennings et al into successfully graduating from the UK video industry.
The film is in British and Irish theaters from 17 November.
