Helmed by Portishead co-founder the musician-producer, this sharp-edged if undernourished debut feature turns a sceptical eye on 90s rave culture. Venal pillhead David (the actor) first robs an passed-out supplier, 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 angry eye of the Poacher (vocalist Jason Williamson). Declining to free 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 Darkly Funny Confrontation
The film begins uncertainly, lingering excessively on pedantically chronicling David’s attempt to extricate himself from his safety harness, while awkwardly transitioning into flashbacks of his normal activities. The central theme – that the rave-era youth were mainly focused on number one – is firmly made. But these vignettes are insufficiently developed to adequately prepare us for what to expect when the Poacher arrives, enraged after David kills his dog. Still, a grimly amusing standoff unfolds – David eager to get away; the Poacher denying his container of cider, determined to soaking him instead in embittered discourse. Williamson, projecting heavy threat in the role, is evocative of Michael Smiley.
Visual Flair and Promo-Inspired Sensibility
There is only one important plot development, but it leads to a comically executed chaotic run on the woodland paths that veers toward rural terror. Filmmaker John Minton at last unleashes with his ostentatious visuals: where he was hunkered down doing artful shots of insects in the light in the early stages, he now lets rip with the full psychedelic 21-gun salute, accompanied by 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 follow Jonathan Glazer, Garth Jennings et al into successfully graduating from the UK video industry.
The film is in British and Irish theaters from November 17.
