User reviews

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.

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.

Robert Pattinson has steered very clear from his Twilight years to give us an impressive resumé of independent films that have scrubbed off his Cullen brand and moulded him into a compelling actor. The Safdie Brother's Good Time is but a testament to his ability, giving us what could be his best performance yet. Two brothers, Connie and Nick Nikas, attempt at a bank robbery but fail and Nick lands in jail. This sets Connie to embark on a desperate and dangerous journey to get his brother out. What seems like a simple premise, quickly descends into a twisted odyssey, offering more than just a casual heist-gone-wrong flick.

Pattinson stuns as Connie Nikas with an approach to the character that will make you ponder on his motivations and lead you to question what he will do next. This is far from anything he has done prior, Connie is unsympathetic, desperate and immoral as he evades the ludicrous situations he finds himself in with but a tinge of luck. The other characters, played splendidly by mostly newcomers, paint a picture of debauchery and excess for New York's underworld, forever maintaining a true level of authenticity that often feels part- 70s arthouse and part- contemporary anthemic.

A large fraction of the success of Good Time is thanks to masterful direction by Benny Safdie and Josh Safdie and a consistently stellar performance from Robert Pattinson. A sleeper hit for 2017, all the more reason to watch it.

Greetings from Lithuania.

"Good Time" (2017) is one of the more involving movies I've seen in some time now. This is a good thrill ride from start till finish. It has a very good directing, good and involving script, great performances and great pacing. The movie is pretty brutal, but its not a blood fest. It has a simple premise and keeps on to it till the end.

Overall, i really enjoyed "Good Time" for its all 1 h 38 min run time. It never dragged and i was very involved into this story superbly told. Very good movie on all accounts.

"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.

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.

Quick and to the point, Good Time exceeded my expectations. The acting, (especially Rob Pattinson's), direction by the Safdie Brothers, and soundtrack all came together to create a masterpiece. It's not a regular type of film, which might be why some people don't enjoy it. It was raw, edgy, and intense. The movie pulls you in and leaves you wondering what to do once its over. I can't wait to see what Josh and Benny Safdie will come out with next!

This movie is also more of an experience, forcing us to feel the intensity of the story told with both: a wild and always moving script and filming basically in close-ups.

About the protagonist: a great performance from Pattinson, disappearing completely as this low life new yorker in a mission.

But after a brutal start that goes off for 45 minutes (more or less), the movie starts to lose a bit of its strength. The style , while great, didn't cover a story that started to go in circles to nowhere, with an ok but lacking ending. Still, good movie and good ride.

Good Time is a small movie about small people doing small things. But never let it be said that it's dreary or dull. This movie somehow took the edgy anxiety of a waking nightmare, bottled it up, and put it on the screen so you'd leave the theater in a cold sweat. If the DVD/Blu-ray release of Good Time doesn't have a critic blurb saying "this movie gave me indigestion," I'll be sorely disappointed.

The setup is simple: a wanted man (Pattinson) tries to raise the money for bail to get his mentally handicapped brother (Safdie) out of prison. The two had held up a bank earlier that day and throughout the night, Connie resorts to dubious and dangerous lengths to avoid punishment and consequence.

In an interview with NPR co-director and co-star Benny Safdie said "We wanted to deliver a piece of pulp that actually felt dangerous." With that in mind cinematographer Sean Price Williams shot on 35mm and much of the movie is loaded with claustrophobic close-ups and delirious hand-held sweeps. The 35mm film bleeds into the New York nocturne. The punishing fluorescents and neon glints that makeup the movie's milieu taunts our protagonist as he spins his wheels round and round. It's a movie that recaptures the intimacy and intensity of a 4am sneak-about.

Even in calmer moments, the film pulses in its nervy desperation. The various innocents the come across Connie's path are more-or-less looking for the same thing, a way out of the mess. They approach their situations with variant levels of legality but never with Pattinson's level of sleaze or sense of entitlement. Despite this, Connie proves remarkably resourceful; one minute his back is up against a corner, the next he's clawed his way out and slumping towards the next hurdle of his odyssey. One can't help but think that if Connie put his mind towards anything other than crime, he'd be on the cover of a business magazine.

Instead he's in an unending fever dream whereby the urban sprawl is the water to his drowning rat. At its height, Good Time has the sparseness and clarity of a John Steinbeck novel and at its most pedestrian it still has the chaotic energy of The 25th Hour (2002).

This is a pretty good movie. It starts off very fresh and thrilling, as two brothers rob a bank. We envision this movie being a fantastic heist or crime thriller. It sort of does that, but goes in a couple of weird, but pleasing, directions. By that I mean the movie never stops on the thrills, but takes us in directions we would never envision it to go. It is not a step by step movie, which is great about it. What can be perceived as boring, space fillers, turns out to be effective and concludes in a very pleasing space. On a different note, Pattinson does not shine in this film as was expected.

Not Oscar worthy, but definitely a great ride of 2017.

7 Stars

Original? Absolutely. Strong performances? Yes. Bright colours? Yes. A prominent soundtrack? Yes.

Did I enjoy it? Not really. While it was engaging throughout, the grittiness, bleakness and ending just left me feeling depressed. The soundtrack was anxiety-inducing in the worst kind of way. It was even distracting at times, and took away from dialogue.

I think a lot of people are blinded by the fact it's uniquely made and written, and features Robert Pattinson in a role vastly different to Twilight. His performance was incredible, though his character (Connie) was woefully frustrating. I found his character hard to like, and therefore, found myself not as invested in his plight during the most tense moments.

Good Time gets points for being one of the fastest paced films I've seen and feeling incredibly authentic and 'real'. It's a rollercoaster ride I won't be getting back on though.

Good Time (2017, The Safdie Brothers) This is a wonderfully gritty crime film that is mostly set over one night. It has the sensibilities of a 70's film and feels like a film Abel Ferrera would want to make is he had any talent. The story follows a bank robber (Robert Pattinson)who finds himself unable to evade those who are looking for him. The acting is superb but the tone of the film might not be for everyone as its a loud, messy world of agitation and intensity that is quite tiring. I personally thought it was great and got a lot out of it and loved the style of presentation from the credits and cinematography to the great synth' score. 7.5-8/10

I thoroughly enjoyed this film on several levels. The acting, direction and story line were all done extremely well. It was original and there is an element of commitment of love through the forced negative acts of the desperate protagonist.

I also have to say I enjoyed the psychedelic score which worked well with the pace of the film. Last, I grew up in the neighborhood much of the film is shot in so I am somewhat biased. This, however, is not what makes the film so good.

Pattinson is brilliant as the Big brother trying to make a better life for himself and his learning disabled brother. A bank robbery they attempt goes wrong and the remainder of the film is an attempt to recover his brother from a hospital after getting caught and beat up in jail.

I won't give any more away but have to say the film is thought provoking, exciting and fast paced. I also felt it was quite realistically done in the way each character plays their parts.

The only thing I found annoying was the credits ran into 22+ minutes of the film. Otherwise, a tremendous effort and success for the Safdie Brothers.

I've never snorted coke, but I bet plenty of the characters in "Good Time" have, and the film feels like the cinematic equivalent.

"Good Time" races by, driven by a propulsive soundtrack and regular blasts of neon. It's both a feel-bad and a feel-good movie at the same time, bad because the milieu of the film and the poor people who populate it are so desperate and bleak, but good because....well....because the movie itself is just so damn good that there's a high from the sheer physical craft on display.

Robert Pattinson stuns with his acting ability in this film, a far cry from anything I've ever seen him in. He plays a loser who engineers a bank robbery with the assistance of his special needs brother and then watches as it all goes to hell. The movie descends into a prolonged nightmare, mostly set at night, as he goes to increasingly desperate and frenzied lengths to scrape up bail money, anointing himself his brother's caretaker and the only one who knows what's best for him. The film is both a tribute to brotherly and familial love and a cautionary tale about how we can sometimes cause more harm than good when our intentions blind us to our actions. Pattinson's character is actually quite despicable, affection for his brother aside. He's selfish, casually cruel, and willing to let others be the stooges and fall guys when he needs them to be. The film is in no way a diatribe about white privilege, but I don't think it's accidental that it creates scenario after scenario where Pattinson's designs work because he's inherently trusted while the minorities around him fall immediately under suspicion.

And the last scene of this film is one of the most quietly devastating I saw all year.

Grade: A

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!

Day? Was it though? And for whom? One may almost think the title was chosen ironically. Now maybe it was meant for the viewer ... you know having a good time watching it. But that would depend on your defintion of it. You really do have to have a love for low budget movies, otherwise ... maybe stay clear from this.

Robert Pattinson gives a performance that will very likely be far removed from what we see him do in the new Batman movie. And that just goes to show you his range. While a movie he did for Netflix (he was one of many talented actors involved in the project) was ripe for people to make fun of (I actually enjoyed it), because of his accent ("Laz"), here he plays a character who is way over the top crazy.

But he still manages to make him likeable. You kind of root for the guy. Of course that also has to do with the person he is trying to do these things for - he seems like a gullible guy who gets into trouble, because of Pattinsons character ... a weird little gem/nugget of a movie - surely not for everyone to enjoy.

Good Time is a dark and gritty crime drama that is set to a driving techno beat and takes place on the streets of New York City. The movie begins with two brothers botching a bank robbery job where one brother Nick, played by co-director Benny Safdie, gets caught and sent to prison and the other brother, Robert Pattinson (from the Twilight movies) ends up on the run, pursued by the authorities and trying to find a way to get his brother out of jail.

Both actors give stellar performances. Nick (Benny Safdie) as the mentally challenged brother and Robert Pattenson gives such a hard core performance as brother Connie you'll easily forget he was a teen heart throb vampire in the Twilight movies. The movie starts off with a bang (literally) with plenty of action and a musical soundtrack that keeps you enthralled. (The soundtrack is probably one of the 5 best of the year.) The problem for me was at some point the movie turns into "Groundhog Day" with the same situations happening over and over again. It's a movie that ends with a whimper.

I give the movie high marks for its direction by the brothers team of Benny and Josh Safdie and the visuals on the big screen are stunning; it's just that the story is a little weak. It doesn't have quite enough to bring the movie all the way to the finish line.

Good Time has a run time of 1 hour and 40 minutes and it earns its strong "R" rating with plenty of violence, sex and drugs.

When I go to a movie the first question I ask myself is, "was it entertaining?" Unfortunately that would include the entire movie. The final third of the film almost bored me to sleep. On my "Hollywood Popcorn Scale" I give Good Time a MEDIUM. Hollywood Hernandez

This movie is as gritty and gripping as you can get. The performances are impressive and natural and no one lets the rest of the cast down. The cinematography was close and claustrophobic and it really added to the feeling of the movie. All of the pieces that put this movie together results in a thrillingly unpredictable experience that never feels like a movie.

The protagonist in 'Good Time (2017)' is certainly no hero and his journey to free his brother seems to be as selfish a quest as it is genuine, with his manipulative manner coming out in every ever-escalating scene until his erraticism outweighs his reasoning and he starts to get so sloppy that the mistakes he makes are perhaps more dangerous than the situations he enters in the first place. It is this central character, along with his frenetic and suitably grimy performance, that keeps you engaged, by being surprisingly seedy, even when the narrative doesn't take the turns you'd expect it to - which is ultimately a good thing. Props must also be given to the actor - who is also a co-director - portraying the lead's mentally-handicapped brother, as he does a phenomenal job of embodying a character whom we can wholly empathise with. The piece is never predictable and properly pacy, with a definite sense of style that seeps into every situation and marks the overall story with a tangibly 'loose strand' feel, a kind of vibe that pushes tension and suspense into the most mundane of misguided moments that feel just disconnected enough to be true-to-life. The realist sensibility and superb synthetic soundtrack keep every beat fresh and exciting, though, so that, while they do seem somewhat coincidental, they always come across as wholly necessary and all-encompassing, the only thing occupying both the characters' and audience's mind. This 'in-the-moment' vibe is incredibly energetic and puts you in the head of the stressed and worn-out lead, lessening the impact of the inevitable retroactive realisation that the action seems more like disconnected set-pieces happening almost out of the blue, with little ultimately falling into place, than a proper planned narrative. Still, that's not to imply there wasn't thought put in behind the scenes. It takes a special kind of planning to make things seem spontaneous. In the end, this piece becomes more realistic, and thematically futile (though still hopeful), precisely because it refuses to follow convention and fit into a neat narrative package. Plus, as I mentioned, it is all about being in the head-space of the character, which is why most of the piece is shot using claustrophobic close-ups, and feeling like every little event is the biggest moment of the movie. The situation itself almost acts as the antagonist, throwing curve-balls to stop our protagonist from achieving his goals. Every moment could be his last and danger comes from the most unexpected of places, be that by coincidence or by his mistakes, which makes the flick a thrilling ride from start-to-end in a more domestic kind of way than usual. There are no big explosions, massive gun-fights or country-wide car chases. Yet, every moment is exciting. That's the beauty of it, really. For all its subversion, thematic elements, character depth and clever, realist twists, the most important thing about it is this: it's just a good time. 7/10

#GoodTime is a fantastic insomniac crime comedy/thriller with the fully determined & daring #RobertPattinson. It's like if "Lock Stock And Two Smoking Barrels" met "Trainspotting" and had a Red Bull-fueled baby. It's entertaining through and through.

Directed by Josh and Ben Safdie, Robert Pattinson plays Constantine Nikas who commits a botched bank robbery that lands his younger brother in prison. The rest of the film shows Nikas' dangerous attempt in a span of one crazy night just to get his brother out. Madness, mayhem and violence ensue as he also tries to evade the consequences of his actions.

I haven't watched "Heaven Knows What," but I am now definitely a big fan of the Safdie brothers after "Good Time" because their vision and craftsmanship are simply hypnotic. Not only do they play with neons and glows but also almost the entire time, the film is done with close-up shots which tightly frames the characters so much so that it intensifies the story's unpredictability.

The characters in "Good Time" may not be quite as dumb as the characters in the Coen Brothers' crime comedies, but they're quite rudderless. Nikas knows that his main objective is his brother, but he doesn't have a clear plan. He's got bits and pieces of what can be considered close to a plan but for the most part, he just wings it, which makes this whole thing hilarious. It's as if the script intentionally throws a curve ball at him every other five minutes or so, you see him encounter unexpected blunders, mostly of his own doing as he's winging it from one cluster- mess after another. He's always on the go. And Robert Pattinson is marvelous, some say this is his breakout performance, I say it's the performance that no one else but him could play. Pattinson becomes this desperate loser, part of you empathizes with him but part of you wants to see him get what he deserves. "Good Time" is a helluva way to end this summer season at the movies.

-- Rama's Screen --

Pattinson plays a role of a caring brother trying to save his brother. Everything he goes through makes you cringe but the resolve leaves something to be desired. A terrible ending to a movie that makes you keep waiting for something to happen worthwhile