The work of Portishead co-founder the musician-producer, this sharp-edged if slight first film casts a critical gaze on the ecstasy-fueled club scene. Self-serving drug user David (the actor) first robs an passed-out supplier, then in another flashback tries to break into his own parents. Before you can say, he's upside down in the remains of his car in a woodland – and subject to the angry eye of the Woodsman (Sleaford Mods frontman Jason Williamson). Refusing to extricate David, with no time for city dwellers, he is broken Britain embodied: “You’re one of those loud individuals 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 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 number one – 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 standoff takes hold – David desperate to escape; the Woodsman denying his container of cider, determined to dousing him instead in resentful talk. Williamson, exuding ponderous menace in the role, is reminiscent of Michael Smiley.
Visual Flair and Promo-Inspired Sensibility
There is only one key story turn, but it results in a hilariously staged rampage on the forest trails that veers toward folk horror. 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 goes all out with the full psychedelic 21-gun salute, accompanied by 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 bold visuals to suggest that Minton could follow Jonathan Glazer, Garth Jennings and others into successfully graduating from the UK video industry.
The film is in British and Irish cinemas from November 17.
