Game Review: Sleaford Mods' Jason Williamson Assumes Character in Sceptical Examination at Ecstasy Generation Era
Produced by Bristol sound co-founder Geoff Barrow, this sharp-edged if slight first film turns a sceptical eye on 90s rave culture. Self-serving pillhead David (Marc Bessant) first robs an passed-out supplier, then in another flashback 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 Poacher (Sleaford Mods frontman Jason Williamson). Refusing to extricate David, with no time for city dwellers, he is a fractured society personified: “You’re one of those loud individuals from up on the heath.”
Unsteady Opening and Grimly Amusing 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 bigger point – that the ecstasy generation were primarily out for themselves – is clearly conveyed. But these vignettes are insufficiently developed to properly prime us for what to expect when the Woodsman arrives, fuming after David kills his dog. Nevertheless, a grimly amusing standoff takes hold – David desperate to escape; the Woodsman denying his container of scrumpy, intent on dousing him instead in resentful talk. Williamson, projecting ponderous menace in the role, is reminiscent of Michael Smiley.
Visual Flair and Promo-Inspired Vibe
Just a single key story turn, but it results in a hilariously staged rampage on the forest trails that veers toward folk horror. Filmmaker John Minton at last unleashes 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 lysergic grand display, soundtracked to a wild organ version 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 et al into successfully graduating from the UK video industry.
The film is in UK and Irish theaters from November 17.
