Game Review: Sleaford Mods' Jason Williamson Assumes Character in Sceptical Look at 90s Rave Culture
Produced by Bristol sound co-founder the musician-producer, this scabrous though undernourished debut feature casts a critical gaze on the ecstasy-fueled club scene. Self-serving pillhead David (Marc Bessant) initially steals from an unconscious dealer, then in another flashback tries to burgle his own parents. In no time, he's upside down in the wreckage of his car in a woodland – and subject to the wrathful eye of the Woodsman (Sleaford Mods frontman Jason Williamson). Refusing to extricate David, with impatience toward city dwellers, he is broken Britain personified: “You’re one of those noisy cunts from up on the heath.”
A Shaky Start and Grimly Amusing Duel
The film begins uncertainly, lingering excessively on pedantically chronicling David’s attempt to extricate himself from his seatbelt, while awkwardly transitioning into past scenes of his everyday life. The central theme – that the rave-era youth 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 arrives, fuming after David kills his dog. Still, a grimly amusing duel unfolds – David eager to get away; the Poacher denying his container of cider, determined to soaking him instead in embittered discourse. Williamson, projecting ponderous menace in the role, is evocative of Michael Smiley.
Visual Flair and Music Video Sensibility
There is only one key story turn, but it results in a hilariously staged chaotic run on the woodland paths that veers toward folk horror. Filmmaker 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 21-gun salute, soundtracked to a frenzied keyboard rendition 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 follow Jonathan Glazer, Garth Jennings and others into making the leap from the UK video industry.
The film is in British and Irish theaters from November 17.
