Year: 2017
Director(s): Safdie Brothers
Country: US
Language: English
New Yorkers Josh and Benny Safdie bring their affection for documentary-style realism and amoral characters to Good Time, a neon-glowing, electronic-scored crime story. It's fairly clear that these brothers are fans of 70's and 80's pictures, specifically Martin Scorsese's After Hours (1985) and Mean Streets (1973), as much of their film pays homage to past Cinema. Never easing up on tension, Good Time, while an ironic title for its characters, is exactly the way we feel when the film is over.
After a heist goes awry, a bank robber (Robert Pattison) spends a night trying to free his mentally ill brother (Benny Safdie) from being sent to Riker's Island prison.
If you hated Robert Pattison for starring in the awful Twilight flicks, prepare to forgive him as he plays his finest performance as Connie, a criminal who is overly protective of his mentally challenged brother. His brotherly love drives this zany plot which is both heartbreaking and hilarious. Constantly keeping you on your feet, much of the velocity this picture has is the fact that Connie is a quick-but not always-smart thinker. The plot twists will either have you laughing in stitches or leave you with your jaw dropped.
The film excels in its script; as an audience member you're never sure where the film is going to go & you're always excited when you get there. 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. The score, as well as the cinematography, create a noir atmosphere that is full of dread and doubt. As the police slowly catch up to Pattison we feel an incredible amount of claustrophobia.
Good Time, for now, is my favourite film of 2017. I do like that, despite Connie's good intentions, he is still an unredeemable bad guy at the end. I find the theme of how all institutions disappoint to be remarkable and full of truth. There is much to dissect with this heavyweight of a film.
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