Film Analysis: Band Frontman Jason Williamson Assumes Role in Critical Examination at 90s Rave Culture
The work of Portishead co-founder Geoff Barrow, this sharp-edged though slight debut feature turns a sceptical eye on the ecstasy-fueled club scene. Venal drug user 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 wrathful eye of the Woodsman (Sleaford Mods frontman Jason Williamson). Refusing to extricate David, with no time for townies, he is a fractured society embodied: “You’re one of those loud individuals from up on the heath.”
A Shaky Start and Darkly Funny Confrontation
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 rave-era youth were mainly focused on number one – is firmly made. But these vignettes are insufficiently developed to properly prime us for what to expect when the Woodsman turns up, enraged after David strangles his dog. Nevertheless, a grimly amusing duel takes hold – David desperate to escape; the Woodsman withholding his jerrycan of cider, intent on dousing him instead in resentful talk. Williamson, projecting ponderous menace in the role, is evocative of Michael Smiley.
Visual Flair and Music Video Sensibility
Just a single key story turn, 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 focused intently doing impressionistic closeups of bugs in headlights in the early stages, he now goes all out with the full lysergic 21-gun salute, 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 follow Jonathan Glazer, Garth Jennings and others into making the leap from the Brit music promo scene.
The film is in UK and Irish cinemas from November 17.
