Produced by Bristol sound co-founder Geoff Barrow, this scabrous if undernourished first film casts a critical gaze on 90s rave culture. Venal pillhead David (Marc Bessant) initially steals from an passed-out supplier, then in another flashback tries to burgle his own parents. Before you can say, he's upside down in the wreckage of his car in a woodland – and subject to the angry eye of the Woodsman (vocalist Jason Williamson). Refusing to extricate David, with no time for city dwellers, he is a fractured society embodied: “You’re one of those loud individuals from up on the heath.”
Unsteady Opening and Grimly Amusing Duel
The film begins uncertainly, lingering excessively on meticulously detailing David’s attempt to extricate himself from his seatbelt, while clumsily segueing into past scenes of his everyday life. The central theme – that the ecstasy generation were mainly focused on themselves – is clearly conveyed. But these vignettes are too thin to adequately prepare us for what to expect when the Woodsman turns up, enraged after David kills his dog. Nevertheless, a darkly funny duel takes hold – David eager to get away; the Poacher withholding his jerrycan of scrumpy, intent on dousing him instead in embittered discourse. Williamson, projecting heavy threat in the role, is reminiscent of Michael Smiley.
Stylish Imagery and Promo-Inspired Sensibility
Just a single key story turn, but it results in a comically executed chaotic run on the woodland paths that dips close to rural terror. Filmmaker John Minton at last unleashes with his ostentatious visuals: where he was focused intently doing artful shots of insects in the light in the early stages, he now lets rip with the full lysergic 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 bold visuals to suggest that Minton could emulate Jonathan Glazer, Garth Jennings and others into successfully graduating from the Brit music promo scene.
The film releases in UK and Irish cinemas from November 17.
