Helmed by Portishead co-founder Geoff Barrow, this scabrous if slight first film turns a sceptical eye on 90s rave culture. Venal drug user David (Marc Bessant) first robs an unconscious dealer, then in a later recollection tries to burgle his own family home. In no time, he's upside down in the wreckage of his car in a forest – and subject to the wrathful eye of the Woodsman (vocalist Jason Williamson). Refusing to extricate David, with no time for city dwellers, he is broken Britain embodied: “You’re one of those loud individuals from up on the heath.”
A Shaky Start and Grimly Amusing Confrontation
The film begins uncertainly, spending too long on pedantically chronicling David’s attempt to free himself from his seatbelt, while awkwardly transitioning into past scenes of his everyday life. The bigger point – that the rave-era youth were primarily out for themselves – is clearly conveyed. But these brief episodes are insufficiently developed to properly prime us for what to expect when the Poacher arrives, fuming after David strangles his dog. Still, a darkly funny standoff takes hold – David eager to get away; the Poacher withholding his jerrycan of cider, determined to soaking him instead in embittered discourse. Williamson, exuding heavy threat in the role, is evocative of Michael Smiley.
Visual Flair and Music Video Vibe
There is only one key story turn, but it leads to a hilariously staged rampage on the forest trails that veers toward rural terror. Filmmaker John Minton finally gets to go all in with his ostentatious visuals: where he was hunkered down doing impressionistic closeups of insects in the light in the opening part, he now goes all out with the full lysergic grand display, soundtracked to a wild organ version of Ravel’s Boléro. The movie resembles an elongated music video than a fully fledged drama, but there’s enough bold visuals to suggest that Minton could emulate Jonathan Glazer, Garth Jennings et al into successfully graduating from the Brit music promo scene.
The film releases in UK and Irish theaters from November 17.
