Game Review: Band Frontman Jason Williamson Assumes Role in Critical Look at 90s Rave Culture
The work of Bristol sound co-founder the musician-producer, this scabrous 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 burgle his own parents. Before you can say, he's overturned in the remains of his car in a woodland – and subject to the wrathful eye of the Woodsman (vocalist Jason Williamson). Declining to free David, with no time for townies, 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, spending too long on pedantically chronicling David’s attempt to extricate himself from his seatbelt, while awkwardly transitioning into flashbacks of his everyday life. The central theme – that the ecstasy generation were mainly focused on number one – is firmly made. But these vignettes are too thin to adequately prepare us for what to expect when the Woodsman arrives, fuming after David kills his dog. Nevertheless, a grimly amusing standoff takes hold – David eager to get away; the Poacher denying his container of scrumpy, determined to dousing him instead in embittered discourse. Williamson, projecting ponderous menace in the role, is reminiscent of Michael Smiley.
Visual Flair and Music Video Vibe
Just a single key story turn, but it results in a comically executed chaotic run on the forest trails that dips close to folk horror. Filmmaker John Minton at last unleashes with his ostentatious visuals: where he was focused intently doing impressionistic closeups of insects in the light in the opening part, he now goes all out with the full psychedelic 21-gun salute, soundtracked to a wild organ version of Ravel’s Boléro. The movie resembles an elongated music video than a complete narrative, but there’s enough bold visuals to suggest that Minton could follow Jonathan Glazer, Garth Jennings et al into making the leap from the UK video industry.
The film is in UK and Irish theaters from November 17.
