Produced by Portishead co-founder Geoff Barrow, this sharp-edged though slight debut feature turns a sceptical eye on the ecstasy-fueled club scene. Venal pillhead David (Marc Bessant) initially steals from an passed-out supplier, then in another flashback tries to burgle his own parents. Before you can say, he's upside down in the wreckage of his car in a forest – and subject to the angry eye of the Poacher (Sleaford Mods frontman Jason Williamson). Refusing to extricate David, with no time for townies, he is a fractured society personified: “You’re one of those noisy cunts 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 seatbelt, while awkwardly transitioning into flashbacks of his everyday life. The bigger point – that the ecstasy generation were primarily out for themselves – is firmly made. But these brief episodes are too thin to adequately prepare us for what to expect when the Woodsman turns up, fuming after David kills his dog. Nevertheless, a darkly funny duel takes hold – David eager to get away; the Woodsman denying his container of cider, intent on soaking him instead in resentful talk. Williamson, exuding heavy threat in the role, is reminiscent of Michael Smiley.
Visual Flair and Music Video Sensibility
Just a single key story turn, but it results in a hilariously staged rampage on the woodland paths that veers toward folk horror. Filmmaker John Minton at last unleashes with his showy imagery: where he was focused intently doing impressionistic closeups of insects in the light in the early stages, he now goes all out with the full lysergic grand display, 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 follow Jonathan Glazer, Garth Jennings et al into making the leap from the UK video industry.
The film releases in British and Irish cinemas from November 17.
