Helmed by Portishead co-founder Geoff Barrow, this scabrous though slight first film casts a critical gaze on 90s rave culture. Venal drug user David (Marc Bessant) initially steals from an passed-out supplier, then in another flashback tries to break into his own parents. In no time, he's overturned in the wreckage of his car in a forest – and subject to the wrathful eye of the Woodsman (vocalist Jason Williamson). Refusing to extricate David, with no time for city dwellers, he is a fractured society embodied: “You’re one of those loud individuals from up on the heath.”
Unsteady Opening and Darkly Funny Confrontation
Game gets off to a shaky start, spending too long on meticulously detailing David’s attempt to extricate himself from his safety harness, while clumsily segueing into flashbacks of his everyday life. The bigger point – that the ecstasy generation were mainly focused on themselves – is clearly conveyed. But these brief episodes are too thin to properly prime us for what to expect when the Woodsman arrives, enraged after David strangles his dog. Nevertheless, a darkly funny duel unfolds – David eager to get away; the Woodsman withholding his jerrycan of cider, determined to dousing him instead in resentful talk. Williamson, projecting heavy threat in the role, is evocative of Michael Smiley.
Stylish Imagery and Promo-Inspired Vibe
There is only one key story turn, but it results in a hilariously staged rampage on the forest trails that veers toward rural terror. Filmmaker John Minton finally gets to go all in 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 21-gun salute, 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 follow Jonathan Glazer, Garth Jennings and others into successfully graduating from the UK video industry.
Game releases in UK and Irish cinemas from 17 November.
