Release date: 11 August 2017
Run time: 101 minutes
Certificate: 15
It is clear from the outset that Good Time is a very assured piece of filmmaking from the Safdie brothers. The electronic score, composed cinematography and encapsulating acting are all instant signifiers that this film will be slick and uncompromising, and it does not disappoint on this front. Good Time rarely lets up on its intensity and in fact it is sometimes to its detriment when it does.
We follow brothers Connie and Nick Nikas, played by Robert Pattinson and Benny Safdie respectively. The latter also forms the directorial duo for the film with brother Josh Safdie. Connie looks out dotingly for his younger brother, who is developmentally disabled and in the midst of therapy sessions for an incident involving their grandmother. The opening scene is one of incredible acting by Safdie, and his whole performance is so commanding and affecting that it is hard to tell that Pattinson is in fact the high-profile actor in this film. This is not a slight on Pattinson by any means. He gives a powerful performance and conveys Connie’s desperation perfectly throughout. After a brilliantly staged bank robbery goes wrong and Nick is arrested, Connie’s despair compounds in an attempt to raise money to bail him out.
Every action has a consequence. This could well be a tagline for Good Time, but at the same time it could not be, such is the ambiguity of the film’s message. Films do not need to have powerful messages or be trying to say something grand, of course. However, Good Time seems like it wants to deliver a philosophical message at times but can only uncomfortably lurch towards it, ultimately with no notable success. One particular almost laugh-out-loud moment sees Connie asking a young woman he has met on his journey about fate and if they were meant to meet. It is unnecessary and odd, made all the more so by the fact that she is 16 years old and has an uncomfortably intimate scene with Connie earlier in the film. The plot also feels too thin at times but it is generally enough to drive the action forward and any tailing off for character development may well have hindered the intensity the Safdie brothers were aiming for.
For the most part, Good Time recognises and plays up to its strength and surges forward in scintillating fashion, all the while powered by Oneohtrix Point Never’s electronic score (it went on to win the Soundtrack Award at Cannes in 2017). Iggy Pop also lends his vocals and song writing to the film’s final scene, which is surprisingly poignant and ensures the film resonates for longer than you might expect. Reinforced by stylish cinematography, Good Time marks the Safdie brothers as a pair to watch out for, a Coen brothers-esque for the crime thriller.
4/5
A stylish and assured film from the Safdie brothers, bolstered by two strong lead performances and a driving intensity that keeps you hooked until the end.