The work of Bristol sound co-founder Geoff Barrow, this scabrous if undernourished debut feature casts a critical gaze on the ecstasy-fueled club scene. Venal pillhead David (Marc Bessant) first robs an unconscious dealer, then in a later recollection tries to burgle his own family home. In no time, he's upside down in the remains of his car in a woodland – and subject to the angry eye of the Woodsman (Sleaford Mods frontman Jason Williamson). Declining to free David, with impatience toward townies, he is a fractured society embodied: “You’re one of those loud individuals from up on the heath.”
Unsteady Opening and Grimly Amusing Confrontation
The film begins uncertainly, spending too long on pedantically chronicling David’s attempt to extricate himself from his seatbelt, while awkwardly transitioning into past scenes of his everyday life. The bigger point – that the ecstasy generation were primarily out for number one – is firmly made. But these brief episodes are insufficiently developed to adequately prepare us for what to expect when the Woodsman turns up, enraged after David kills his dog. Still, a grimly amusing duel unfolds – David desperate to escape; the Woodsman withholding his jerrycan of cider, intent on dousing him instead in embittered discourse. Williamson, exuding ponderous menace 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 hilariously staged rampage on the forest trails that veers toward rural terror. Director John Minton finally gets to go all in with his ostentatious visuals: where he was focused intently doing artful shots of bugs in headlights in the early stages, he now goes all out with the full lysergic grand display, accompanied by 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 Brit music promo scene.
The film releases in UK and Irish cinemas from November 17.
