Film Analysis: Sleaford Mods' Jason Williamson Assumes Role in Sceptical Look at 90s Rave Culture
The work of Bristol sound co-founder the musician-producer, this sharp-edged though undernourished first film casts a critical gaze on 90s rave culture. Venal drug user David (the actor) initially steals from an passed-out supplier, then in another flashback tries to break into his own family home. In no time, he's overturned in the wreckage of his car in a woodland – and subject to the wrathful eye of the Poacher (vocalist Jason Williamson). Refusing to extricate David, with impatience toward townies, he is a fractured society embodied: “You’re one of those noisy cunts from up on the heath.”
A Shaky Start and Grimly Amusing Duel
Game gets off to a shaky start, spending too long on meticulously detailing David’s attempt to extricate himself from his safety harness, while clumsily segueing into flashbacks of his everyday life. The central theme – that the ecstasy generation 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 turns up, enraged after David strangles his dog. Still, a darkly funny standoff takes hold – David eager to get away; the Poacher withholding his jerrycan of scrumpy, determined to soaking him instead in resentful talk. Williamson, exuding ponderous menace in the role, is reminiscent of Michael Smiley.
Visual Flair and Music Video Vibe
Just a single key story turn, but it results in a comically executed chaotic run on the forest trails that veers toward folk horror. Director 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 opening part, he now goes all out with the full lysergic 21-gun salute, soundtracked to a wild organ version of Ravel’s Boléro. Game feels more like an elongated music video than a complete narrative, but there’s enough strident imagery to suggest that Minton could emulate Jonathan Glazer, Garth Jennings and others into making the leap from the UK video industry.
The film releases in UK and Irish cinemas from November 17.