Game Review: Band Frontman Jason Williamson Takes On Character in Critical Look at 90s Rave Culture
The work of Portishead co-founder Geoff Barrow, this scabrous if undernourished debut feature turns a sceptical eye on 90s rave culture. Self-serving pillhead David (Marc Bessant) first robs an unconscious dealer, then in a later recollection tries to burgle his own parents. 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 impatience toward townies, he is a fractured society embodied: “You’re one of those loud individuals from up on the heath.”
A Shaky Start and Darkly Funny Duel
The film begins uncertainly, lingering excessively on pedantically chronicling 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 mainly focused on themselves – is firmly made. But these brief episodes are insufficiently developed to properly prime us for what to expect when the Woodsman turns up, fuming after David kills his dog. Nevertheless, a darkly funny duel takes hold – David desperate to escape; the Woodsman withholding his jerrycan of scrumpy, intent on dousing him instead in resentful talk. Williamson, exuding ponderous menace in the role, is evocative of Michael Smiley.
Visual Flair and Promo-Inspired Sensibility
Just a single important plot development, but it results in a hilariously staged chaotic run on the forest trails that veers toward rural terror. Filmmaker John Minton at last unleashes 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 extended promo than a fully fledged drama, but there’s enough strident imagery to suggest that Minton could emulate Jonathan Glazer, Garth Jennings et al into making the leap from the UK video industry.
The film releases in UK and Irish theaters from November 17.
