Game Review: Sleaford Mods' Jason Williamson Assumes Character in Sceptical Examination at Ecstasy Generation Era
The work of Bristol sound co-founder the musician-producer, this scabrous though undernourished debut feature turns a sceptical eye on the ecstasy-fueled club scene. Self-serving pillhead David (Marc Bessant) initially steals from an passed-out supplier, then in a later recollection tries to burgle his own family home. Before you can say, he's overturned in the remains of his car in a woodland – and subject to the angry eye of the Poacher (Sleaford Mods frontman Jason Williamson). Refusing to extricate David, with impatience toward city dwellers, he is a fractured society embodied: “You’re one of those noisy cunts from up on the heath.”
Unsteady Opening and Darkly Funny Confrontation
The film begins uncertainly, lingering excessively on meticulously detailing David’s attempt to extricate himself from his seatbelt, while awkwardly transitioning into flashbacks of his everyday life. The central theme – that the rave-era youth were primarily out for number one – is firmly made. But these brief episodes are too thin to adequately prepare us for what to expect when the Woodsman arrives, enraged after David strangles his dog. Nevertheless, a grimly amusing duel unfolds – David eager to get away; the Woodsman denying his container of scrumpy, determined to dousing him instead in embittered discourse. Williamson, exuding heavy threat in the role, is reminiscent of Michael Smiley.
Visual Flair and Music Video Sensibility
There is only one important plot development, but it results in a hilariously staged chaotic run on the forest trails that dips close to folk horror. Director John Minton finally gets to go all in with his showy imagery: where he was hunkered down doing impressionistic closeups of insects in the light in the early stages, he now lets rip 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 theaters from 17 November.
