Produced by Portishead co-founder the musician-producer, this scabrous if slight debut feature casts a critical gaze on the ecstasy-fueled club scene. Venal pillhead David (Marc Bessant) first robs an passed-out supplier, then in a later recollection tries to burgle his own parents. In no time, he's overturned in the wreckage of his car in a forest – and subject to the wrathful eye of the Woodsman (vocalist Jason Williamson). Declining to free David, with impatience toward townies, he is broken Britain embodied: “You’re one of those loud individuals from up on the heath.”
Unsteady Opening and Darkly Funny Confrontation
The film begins uncertainly, spending too long on meticulously detailing David’s attempt to free himself from his safety harness, while awkwardly transitioning into flashbacks of his everyday life. The central theme – that the rave-era youth were mainly focused on themselves – is clearly conveyed. But these brief episodes are insufficiently developed to adequately prepare us for what to expect when the Poacher arrives, fuming after David strangles his dog. Still, a grimly amusing standoff takes hold – David desperate to escape; the Poacher withholding his jerrycan of cider, determined to soaking him instead in resentful talk. Williamson, exuding ponderous menace in the role, is evocative of Michael Smiley.
Visual Flair and Music Video Sensibility
Just a single important plot development, but it leads to a comically executed rampage on the forest trails that veers toward rural terror. Filmmaker John Minton at last unleashes with his showy imagery: where he was focused intently doing artful shots of bugs in headlights in the early stages, he now lets rip with the full psychedelic grand display, soundtracked to a frenzied keyboard rendition of Ravel’s Boléro. The movie resembles an elongated music video than a fully fledged drama, but there’s enough strident imagery to suggest that Minton could emulate Jonathan Glazer, Garth Jennings and others into successfully graduating from the UK video industry.
The film is in British and Irish cinemas from November 17.
