Film Analysis: Band Frontman Jason Williamson Takes On Character in Sceptical Examination at Ecstasy Generation Era
Produced by Portishead co-founder Geoff Barrow, this sharp-edged though undernourished debut feature turns a sceptical eye on 90s rave culture. Venal drug user David (the actor) first robs an passed-out supplier, then in a later recollection tries to break into his own family home. Before you can say, he's upside down in the wreckage of his car in a forest – and subject to the angry eye of the Poacher (Sleaford Mods frontman Jason Williamson). Refusing to extricate David, with impatience toward city dwellers, he is a fractured society personified: “You’re one of those loud individuals from up on the heath.”
A Shaky Start and Grimly Amusing Duel
The film begins uncertainly, lingering excessively on meticulously detailing David’s attempt to free himself from his safety harness, while awkwardly transitioning into flashbacks of his everyday life. The central theme – that the ecstasy generation were primarily out for themselves – is firmly made. But these vignettes are insufficiently developed to adequately prepare us for what to expect when the Woodsman turns up, fuming after David strangles his dog. Nevertheless, a darkly funny standoff takes hold – David desperate to escape; the Poacher withholding his jerrycan of cider, determined to dousing him instead in embittered discourse. Williamson, exuding ponderous menace in the role, is reminiscent of Michael Smiley.
Stylish Imagery and Music Video Vibe
Just a single key story turn, but it results in a hilariously staged rampage on the woodland paths that veers toward folk horror. Filmmaker John Minton at last unleashes with his showy imagery: where he was focused intently doing artful shots of insects in the light in the opening part, he now lets rip with the full psychedelic 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 strident imagery to suggest that Minton could follow Jonathan Glazer, Garth Jennings and others into making the leap from the UK video industry.
The film releases in UK and Irish theaters from 17 November.
