Good Time

"Very Good"

Good Time Review


Robert Pattinson continues to distance himself from his teen heartthrob image with this scruffy B-movie. His loser character takes the audience on a deranged funhouse ride through corners of New York that are so lurid that the movie feels like it was made in the early 1980s, especially with its electronic score by Oneohtrix Point Never. And while it all feels a little too constructed to be believable, the film is superbly gripping. And even a bit moving.

Pattinson plays Connie, a low-life criminal who confidently robs a Brooklyn bank with his mentally simple brother Nick (played by Benny Safdie, who also directed the film with his brother Josh). As they flee, Connie gets away, but Nick is arrested. In need of cash to pay Nick's bail, Connie looks up his rather unstable friend Corey (Jennifer Jason Leigh), but she turns out to be a dead end. So he decides to break Nick out of jail. While working out this plan, he meets Ray (Buddy Duress), a junkie coming down from a bad trip, and 16-year-old Crystal (Taliah Webster). And both of them give Connie a new idea.

Yes, this is the kind of film that moves from one chaotic set-piece to the next with a wonderful volatility that makes it feel fresh and spontaneous. And the Safdie brothers direct it in a remarkably full-on style, mixing close-up camerawork with dramatic God's eye aerial shots. Every scene is awash in bright colour, and each actor delivers a performance that's physically kinetic and emotionally raw. None of these people are very easy to sympathise with, but they're so funny and unpredictable that we can't look away. Pattinson has never been this frantic before, and he's terrific as a smart guy with no common sense. He's the kind of guy who thinks that his next plan will finally be the one that works, even though it clearly won't.

The supporting cast is solid around him, from Duress' likeable idiot to Barkhad Abdi as a security guard who underestimates Connie's desperation. Leigh may be a bit over the top as a hot mess, but Safdie superbly underplays Nick. Basically, everyone in this story is out if his or her depth, mainly because the screenwriters have put them there. It never feels terribly organic, but it is consistently entertaining, even as it gets increasingly violent. And the driving theme of brotherly love gives the film an unexpected emotional soul.



Facts and Figures

Genre: Thriller

Box Office Worldwide: $3M

Production compaines: Rhea Films, Elara Pictures

Reviews

Contactmusic.com: 3.5 / 5

Cast & Crew

Director: Benny Safdie, Josh Safdie

Producer: Sebastian Bear-McClard, Oscar Boyson, Terry Dougas, Paris Kasidokostas Latsis

Starring: as Connie Nikas, Ben Safdie as Nick Nikas, as Corey Ellman, as Dash the Park Security Guard, Buddy Duress as Ray, Taliah Webster as Crystal, Necro as Caliph, Peter Verby as Peter the Psychiatrist, Saida Mansoor as Agapia Nikas, Gladys Mathon as Annie, as Loren, Eric Paykert as Eric, Rachel Black as Rachel, Cliff Moylan as Officer Patrick, Hirakish Ranasaki as Trevor, Maynard Nicholl as Donnie, Craig muMs Grant as Denny, George Lee Miles as Albert, Lucas Elliot Eberl as Arcade Guy, as Uber Driver, Shaun Rey as Undercover Cop, Marcos A. Gonzalez as Arresting Police Officer

Contactmusic

New Movies

Star Wars: The Last Jedi Movie Review

Star Wars: The Last Jedi Movie Review

After the thunderous reception for J.J. Abrams' Episode VII: The Force Awakens two years ago,...

Daddy's Home 2 Movie Review

Daddy's Home 2 Movie Review

Like the 2015 original, this comedy plays merrily with cliches to tell a silly story...

The Man Who Invented Christmas Movie Review

The Man Who Invented Christmas Movie Review

There's a somewhat contrived jauntiness to this blending of fact and fiction that may leave...

Ferdinand Movie Review

Ferdinand Movie Review

This animated comedy adventure is based on the beloved children's book, which was published in...

Brigsby Bear Movie Review

Brigsby Bear Movie Review

Director Dave McCary makes a superb feature debut with this offbeat black comedy, which explores...

Battle of the Sexes Movie Review

Battle of the Sexes Movie Review

A dramatisation of the real-life clash between tennis icons Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs,...

Shot Caller Movie Review

Shot Caller Movie Review

There isn't much subtlety to this prison thriller, but it's edgy enough to hold the...

Advertisement
The Disaster Artist Movie Review

The Disaster Artist Movie Review

A hilariously outrageous story based on real events, this film recounts the making of the...

Stronger Movie Review

Stronger Movie Review

Based on a true story about the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing, this looks like one...

Only the Brave Movie Review

Only the Brave Movie Review

Based on a genuinely moving true story, this film undercuts the realism by pushing its...

Wonder Movie Review

Wonder Movie Review

This film may be based on RJ Palacio's fictional bestseller, but it approaches its story...

Happy End  Movie Review

Happy End Movie Review

Austrian auteur Michael Haneke isn't known for his light touch, but rather for hard-hitting, award-winning...

Patti Cake$ Movie Review

Patti Cake$ Movie Review

Seemingly from out of nowhere, this film generates perhaps the biggest smile of any movie...

The Limehouse Golem Movie Review

The Limehouse Golem Movie Review

A Victorian thriller with rather heavy echoes of Jack the Ripper, this film struggles to...

Advertisement
Artists
Actors
    Filmmakers
      Artists
      Bands
        Musicians
          Artists
          Celebrities
             
              Artists
              Interviews