Good Time

"I think something very important is happening and it's deeply connected to my purpose." Connie (Robert Pattinson)

The depth in the heist-gone-wrong Good Time is the way the director brothers Safdie take us through the seedy side of NYC and the fraught love between Connie and his mentally disabled brother, Nick (Benny Safdie). These two are not bright enough to carry off a heist, proved by Connie's clumsily eluding NYPD and continuing to search for a pot of gold that will give him and his brother the peaceful life they are not meant for.

Here is a heist movie with a heart and enough cinematic savvy to make it an instant classic.

Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men lingers behind the devoted brothers, and Martin Scorses's Mean Streets and Sidney Lumet's Dog Day Afternoon provide the paradigm for clueless hoods confronting the underlife in their daily lives. In fact, interesting characters like mothers and minorities dance out of scenes almost as fast as they enter. Yet naturalism pervades the proceedings as different lowlifes and poor minorities come and go the way they would in NYC at night in the world of thieves and good but poor people.

Corey Ellman (Jennifer Jason-Leigh) is Connie's sometime girlfriend, who supplies money and hope for a vacation to Puerto Vallarta, neither of which is destined to happen. The actress is so fine, as she always is in indies, that her vanishing seems normal under the circumstances and lamentable for the audience.

Sequences such as the mayhem in an amusement park and a hospital teeter on the surreal while the frenetic action continues apace. The directors are geniuses with the close-ups, perhaps the dominant proxemic of the film. Much credit must go to Sean Price Williams' cinematography, which could have been the standard jittery hand held if it weren't so elegantly moving the characters through the night with frenetic abandon and inevitable doom.

Rob Pattinson has come a long way from the Twilight series, being the actor I am sure he wanted to be beyond his somber character in the famous series. Pattinson is the center of the action, withstanding the tyranny of the close up and a character so crazy with love for his brother that we root for Connie although he's a small-time hood without a real plan.

If I could ever experience what it's like to be a neon light inside a crowded nightclub, I imagine it would feel a lot like watching Good Time.

This movie exudes intensity, electricity, and neonicity (not a real word, just roll with it). The opening scene provides the movie's blandest color scheme, but it's serious and compelling and important, so pay attention.

From there, the movie leaps fearlessly into a techno blasting, adrenaline surging, rush of mayhem and terrible decision making. Two brothers rob a bank, run from the police, and one ends up in the hospital. Then it gets worse.

Constantine (played by Robert Pattinson, in a career-making performance) lives a life of dysfunction. He struggles to maintain healthy relationships with family or friends or anyone. The one thing in his life that he's sure of is that he wants to take care of his brother, who has intellectual disabilities. He spends a majority of the film frantically (frantic accurately describes the mood for most of Good Time) attempting to save his brother from the trouble that he put him in. The problem is that Constantine can't even properly take care of himself, so helping his brother is far beyond his abilities.

Try as he may, every attempt to help backfires. Despite Constantine's good intentions, he is a powerfully negative influence in his brother's life. He sees himself as his brother's savior, but that's very far from the truth.

It's tempting to sympathize with Constantine. He has real moments of decency. But just when you may think this isn't such a bad guy, he showcases another instance of unsavory behavior. That seems to be the story of his life—fleeting moments of hope, followed by swift slaps of grim reality that are mostly brought on by his own doing.

In the end, his brother, Nick, becomes the more likable character. We want what is best for Nick, just like Constantine does. Because of this shared goal, I want Constantine to succeed. I have never rooted harder for a character that I didn't really want to root for. That's all because of Nick.

Since this is sounding deeply dramatic, let me reiterate, this isn't a plodding sob story. The frantic pace, ludicrously rousing music and color scheme will make your eyes bug out and your hair stand up. Actually, you may literally stand up at certain moments because of the intensity.

See Good Time if you're up for an intense crime thriller. Just don't forget to think while watching. There's more to this movie than neon and techno.

Connie (Robert Pattinson) and Nick (Benny Safdie) are low-life brothers in NYC who attempt to rob a bank so that they can buy a farm in Virginia. Things don't go well, and Nick, who is mentally handicapped, gets arrested. Connie then begins a night-long odyssey to try and get his brother free while avoiding the cops himself, running into an assortment of fringe characters along the way. Also featuring Buddy Duress, Taliah Webster, Barkhad Abdi, Peter Verby, Robert Clohessy, and Jennifer Jason Leigh.

Filmed in a gritty manner with over-saturated colors and a relentless electronic score, once this movie gets started it becomes an adrenaline-fueled marathon of tense situations, with Pattinson's character consistently asked to make split-second decisions that go wrong as often as right. I consider Robert Pattinson one of the least impressive movie stars to have sprung up in the last decade, but he acquits himself well here, grungy, desperate and vulpine. All of the supporting characters are believable, although largely unsavory. I wasn't quite as impressed with the end result as some critics, as I felt that the story stumbled to an unsatisfying conclusion, and nothing really added up to much, with events virtually ending where they began. That may have been the filmmakers point, but the majority of the film is a tense journey that crime film fans should enjoy.

The new feature from the Safdie Brothers, Good Time, is utterly incontrovertible proof of Robert Pattinson's talent. A skilled young actor who broke out young, Pattinson, like his equally skilled former co-star Kristen Stewart, has been plagued by his "Twilight" image, and accordingly (and unjustly) derided because of his involvement. The truth is that both Pattinson and Stewart are audacious and feverishly talented young actors, and Good Time will convince all who see it that Robert Pattinson is a fearless and versatile actor.

As an ashen-faced, stubble-laden, nervy-eyed criminal thrust into a constantly escalating trip into the recesses of city nightlife, where stakes are always high, Pattinson relishes in the opportunity to inhabit this character and fully realise all his traits. His pretty-boy-image disappears into an expertly assembled composite of agitated mannerisms and a thick Bronx-like brogue.

The film excels in its visuals. The Safdies adore neon light, which leads to many memorable neon-drenched sequences, such as an extended sequence in a haunted-house theme park that reels in the tension. Much of the film takes place at night, allowing for some atmospheric, neo-noir vibes to come to the fore. What also must be credited is the unrelenting pace of the film, living up to its cheeky title through constantly escalating stakes, a thunderously exciting electronic score and a plot that keeps throwing delightfully absurd and insane twists to keep you constantly engaged. Good Time been likened a lot to Dog Day Afternoon, Sidney Lumet's taut and incredible bank-heist-gone-wrong film, and it's a comparison that is apt, if a bit flattering; the Safdies come close to matching that film's inspired lunacy and delirious tension, through a decidedly more modern aesthetic.

The Safdies directorial style is unique, and I'll be honest it at times got on my nerves. I noticed early on that almost every shot is a close up, often hand-held, which can feel claustrophobic, but also just irritating. That being said, I grew used to the style, and eventually understood its purpose, in buttressing the manic instability of its protagonist, and his morally questionable odyssey. Even so, the style was not always seamless with the narrative. Make sure you don't sit too close to the screen when you watch this film.

Good Time is an exciting, pulsating, modernised noir/New Hollywood thriller that deserves a lot of praise for its terrific suspense and Pattinson's bravura turn.

Good Time is essentially a cinematic render, of someone's worst day. It shares the narrative of Connie & Nick Nikas, small-time criminals that find themselves confronted by the consequences of a botched bank heist. Its storyline then comprises of a myriad of unfortunate events, short episodes that draws optimism, and more doses of unfortunate events that compounds & compounds on its characters. While these concepts aren't exactly groundbreaking, the direction of Josh & Benny Safdie, plus the performances of Roberto Pattinson & Benny Safdie, are transcendent.

Good time deserves notice, from its technical wonders alone. The Safdie brothers & Sean Prince Williams' knack for showcasing the city-night grime through superb cinematography & widescreen death stares on its characters, heightens the external & personal crises of its personas. From here, the adrenalince-inducing score, that sees a deeply entertaining infusion of EDM, absolutely intensify its impassioned & stoic moments. As for Good Time's performances, Pattinson was a revelation, shedding his typecast with a committed portrayal. He conveys emphatically the scum of Connie, yet projects unrelenting devotion for Nick as his redeeming quirk, drawing audiences to his plight. Benny Safdie was just as superb, donning the impaired Nick brilliantly, accounting for Good Time's emotional-center.

Overall, Good Time was a pleasant surprise despite the simplicity of its feebly-paced narrative. It comprises of genre-defining tenets, such as audacious screenplay that spotlights convincing immoralities under duress, plus rousing filmmaking techniques. It is remarkably acted, featuring a breakthrough performance from Pattinson, showcasing his eye-opening, artistic mettle. There is then genuine excitement, for the Safdie brother's future offerings!