Game Review: Band Frontman Jason Williamson Assumes Character in Critical Examination at 90s Rave Culture
The work of Bristol sound co-founder Geoff Barrow, this sharp-edged if undernourished debut feature turns a sceptical eye on 90s rave culture. Venal drug user David (Marc Bessant) first robs 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 forest – and subject to the wrathful eye of the Poacher (Sleaford Mods frontman Jason Williamson). Declining to free David, with no time for city dwellers, he is broken Britain personified: “You’re one of those loud individuals from up on the heath.”
A Shaky Start and Grimly Amusing Duel
The film begins uncertainly, lingering excessively on pedantically chronicling David’s attempt to free himself from his safety harness, while clumsily segueing into flashbacks of his everyday life. The bigger point – that the ecstasy generation were mainly focused on number one – is clearly conveyed. But these vignettes are insufficiently developed to adequately prepare us for what to expect when the Woodsman turns up, enraged after David strangles his dog. Nevertheless, a darkly funny duel takes hold – David eager to get away; the Woodsman denying his container of scrumpy, intent on dousing him instead in embittered discourse. Williamson, exuding heavy threat in the role, is evocative of Michael Smiley.
Visual Flair and Promo-Inspired Sensibility
Just a single key story turn, but it leads to a hilariously staged chaotic run on the woodland paths that dips close to rural terror. Filmmaker John Minton finally gets to go all in with his ostentatious visuals: where he was focused intently doing impressionistic closeups 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. The movie resembles an extended promo than a complete narrative, but there’s enough strident imagery to suggest that Minton could follow Jonathan Glazer, Garth Jennings et al into making the leap from the Brit music promo scene.
The film releases in British and Irish cinemas from November 17.
