Produced by Portishead co-founder the musician-producer, this sharp-edged though undernourished first film casts a critical gaze on the ecstasy-fueled club scene. Venal pillhead David (Marc Bessant) first robs an unconscious dealer, then in a later recollection tries to burgle his own family home. In no time, he's upside down in the wreckage of his car in a woodland – and subject to the wrathful eye of the Woodsman (vocalist Jason Williamson). Declining to free David, with no time for townies, he is broken Britain embodied: “You’re one of those noisy cunts from up on the heath.”
A Shaky Start and Darkly Funny Duel
Game gets off to a shaky start, spending too long on pedantically chronicling David’s attempt to free himself from his safety harness, while awkwardly transitioning into flashbacks of his everyday life. The central theme – that the ecstasy generation were mainly focused on themselves – is firmly made. But these brief episodes are too thin to adequately prepare us for what to expect when the Woodsman arrives, fuming after David kills his dog. Still, a grimly amusing standoff takes hold – David desperate to escape; the Woodsman denying his container of cider, determined to dousing him instead in embittered discourse. Williamson, exuding heavy threat in the role, is reminiscent of Michael Smiley.
Visual Flair and Promo-Inspired Vibe
There is only one key story turn, but it results in a comically executed chaotic run on the forest trails that dips close to rural terror. Filmmaker John Minton finally gets to go all in with his ostentatious visuals: where he was focused intently doing artful shots of insects in the light in the early stages, he now goes all out with the full lysergic 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 emulate Jonathan Glazer, Garth Jennings and others into successfully graduating from the Brit music promo scene.
The film releases in British and Irish cinemas from November 17.
