Film Analysis: Sleaford Mods' Jason Williamson Assumes Character in Sceptical Examination at Ecstasy Generation Era
Helmed by Portishead co-founder Geoff Barrow, this scabrous though undernourished first film turns a sceptical eye on the ecstasy-fueled club scene. Self-serving drug user David (the actor) first robs an unconscious dealer, then in another flashback tries to burgle his own family home. Before you can say, he's overturned in the wreckage 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 impatience toward city dwellers, he is broken Britain personified: “You’re one of those noisy cunts from up on the heath.”
Unsteady Opening and Grimly Amusing Confrontation
Game gets off to a shaky start, lingering excessively on meticulously detailing David’s attempt to free himself from his safety harness, while awkwardly transitioning into past scenes 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 Poacher turns up, enraged after David strangles his dog. Still, a grimly amusing standoff unfolds – David eager to get away; the Poacher withholding his jerrycan of scrumpy, determined to soaking him instead in embittered discourse. Williamson, projecting ponderous menace in the role, is evocative of Michael Smiley.
Stylish Imagery and Music Video Sensibility
There is only one key story turn, but it results in a hilariously staged rampage on the woodland paths that veers toward rural terror. Filmmaker John Minton finally gets to go all in with his ostentatious visuals: where he was focused intently doing artful shots of bugs in headlights in the opening part, he now lets rip with the full lysergic 21-gun salute, accompanied by a frenzied keyboard rendition of Ravel’s Boléro. The movie resembles an extended promo than a fully fledged drama, but there’s enough bold visuals to suggest that Minton could follow Jonathan Glazer, Garth Jennings et al into making the leap from the UK video industry.
Game releases in UK and Irish theaters from 17 November.