Could be a Good Time For You
Heads up: don’t expect Good Time to fully live up to its title. Whether it does or not depends on your definition of what a good time is. If your definition is a good time is that of a sunny, crowd-pleasing action comedy, then turn away now. If however, like me, your idea of a good time is a pulsing, grimy, neon-drenched heist thriller where there aren’t exactly any happy endings, then brace yourself for a hypnotic adrenaline-packed fever dream. The latest film by indie heroes the Safdie Brothers (Heaven Knows What, Daddy Longlegs) is, for those willing to submit to it, one of the purely cinematic experiences of the year; one that gets your pulse racing as much as it forces you to want to take a shower afterwards. Think 70’s ‘city movies’ like Mean Streets and Dog Day Afternoon, albeit with a darker, 2017 coat.
Good Time is the story of two brothers from New York: Connie (Robert Pattinson) and Nick Nikas (Benny Safdie, who co-directs with brother Josh). Their characters are made clear from the off: Connie is the hyperactive mastermind behind their life of crime. Living a lifestyle of crime is like a drug to him. Nick, who suffers from mental illness, essentially goes along with his brother’s shenanigans. His relationship with Connie is complex, to say the least. He doesn’t enjoy this lifestyle, but in his eyes at the end of the day, he is his brother and will stick with him through thick and thin. The film begins with a bank robbery. Connie and Nick make their getaway, thinking they’ve gotten away with it, not realising a dye bomb was planted inside the bag with the money. They make a run for it. Nick is caught and jailed while Connie gets away. Needing to get his brother out of jail, Connie uses the stolen money to bail his Nick out. After being told the stolen cash isn’t enough, Connie sets out on a night of extreme activity, in an attempt to do all he can to break his brother out.
It’s a testament to the Safdie Brothers’ confident handle on their material that you are drawn so deeply into Connie’s journey. Connie is a man who does terrible things without an inkling of empathy or consideration for what his actions do to the people around him. With each scene, Connie charms his way out of tight situations, morphing into different personas, praying on his victims’ vulnerabilities. But herein lies the rub: Connie is an awful person, yes, but an increasingly compelling one to watch, and you can thank the formidable presence of Pattinson for that. He is the racing heartbeat of this film, and Pattinson absolutely throws his all into it. His performance feels like the culmination of the talent and confidence that the rest of his post-Twilight acting ventures (Cosmopolis, The Rover) merely hinted at. It’s a blazing, live-wire of a performance that’s reminiscent of Al Pacino in the aforementioned Dog Day Afternoon. Yeah, he’s that good. His co-star, Benny Safdie, gives the quieter yet no less affecting performance. Safdie is off-screen for a good half of the film, yet his presence is never forgotten.
What really makes Good Time a cut above your standard heist thriller is the fact that the Safdies present us with an absolute masterclass in mood and tone. You wouldn’t call Good Time a horror film, but you’ll occasionally watch it through your fingers. It’s not a comedy, but it’s sometimes funny. Their balance and control over the film’s various elements is genuinely gobsmacking. Just look at how casually they weave in themes of racial profiling and white privilege. The Safdies capture city underground anxiety more effectively than any recent film I can recall. When we look back at the films that defined 2017 ten years from now, Good Time is sure to standout purely thanks to its scarily realistic echoing of Trump-era anxiety.
On a technical level, Good Time ranks among the most impressive works of the year. Each scene follows the next with a sense of increasing unpredictability. You never know where the film is taking you; something I highly, highly admire in this day and age of forgettable entertainment. The film is shot majorly in neon-soaked close-up, captured on 35mm by Safdie regular Sean Price Williams. It makes for an experience that rivals the immersion of the bigger budgeted masterpieces Dunkirk and Blade Runner 2049. Additionally, its set-pieces are kinetic and genuinely exciting, which is more than you can say for the set-pieces in your average Marvel blockbuster. The aspect that clicks the whole picture into place is its sound design, particularly the hypnotic score from electronic musician Oneohtrix Point Never. The score makes the film seem as if it’s constantly breathing, and ready to explode at any given moment.
Good Time is a sometimes bewildering film, a quality that will be admired by some and off-put others. It is occasionally a little opaque in regards to what it is all adding up to, which might be something repeat viewings will smoothen out. However, Good Time is always compelling and is another addition to this year’s seemingly endless lexicon of exciting, unpredictable and artistic cinema. When looking at the cinematic landscape of 2017, it certainly is a Good Time.