Helmed by Bristol sound co-founder the musician-producer, this sharp-edged though undernourished debut feature turns a sceptical eye on 90s rave culture. Self-serving pillhead David (Marc Bessant) first robs an passed-out supplier, then in a later recollection tries to break into his own parents. Before you can say, he's overturned in the wreckage of his car in a woodland – and subject to the wrathful eye of the Poacher (vocalist Jason Williamson). Declining to free David, with impatience toward city dwellers, he is a fractured society personified: “You’re one of those noisy cunts from up on the heath.”
A Shaky Start and Grimly Amusing Confrontation
Game gets off to a shaky start, lingering excessively on pedantically chronicling David’s attempt to extricate himself from his seatbelt, while clumsily segueing into flashbacks of his everyday life. The central theme – that the ecstasy generation were mainly focused on number one – is firmly made. But these vignettes are too thin to properly prime us for what to expect when the Woodsman arrives, fuming after David kills his dog. Nevertheless, a grimly amusing duel unfolds – David eager to get away; the Poacher denying his container of scrumpy, intent on soaking him instead in embittered discourse. Williamson, projecting heavy threat in the role, is reminiscent of Michael Smiley.
Visual Flair and Promo-Inspired Sensibility
Just a single important plot development, but it results in a hilariously staged rampage on the forest trails that dips close to rural terror. 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 21-gun salute, soundtracked to a frenzied keyboard rendition of Ravel’s Boléro. Game feels more like an elongated music video 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.
