On August 11th, 2017, “Good Time” was released in the United States. And the world is all the better for it, as this movie reintroduced many to Robert Pattinson, and put the names of Benny and Josh Safdie on the radar of many film fans.
This movie is a tense crime thriller that is driven by the brilliant direction of the Safdie Brothers, with Josh writing the movie and Benny editing it. But even still, this movie wouldn’t have been as good as it was without Pattinson in the lead role. He has turned in some excellent performances post-“Twilight,” but his turn in this movie is so commanding, and he absolutely deserves all the praise he got and all the roles that came after this (“The Batman,” “Tenet,” and especially “The Lighthouse.”)
The movie follows Connie, played by Pattinson, and his brother Nick, played by Benny Safdie himself. When a bank robbery turns wrong, and Nick is arrested, Connie makes his attempt to get the money needed to bail Nick out of jail. The Safdie’s squeeze all they can from this premise, and give us an anxiety-inducing, nerve-wracking ride that is impossible to forget.
“Good Time” was screened at the 2017 Cannes Film Festival, and was then released in theaters on August 11th. Many film buffs point out the performances (especially an award-worthy turn from Pattinson that I could gush over for hours,) direction, writing, editing, and score, but unfortunately, this was one movie that went completely unnoticed by the Academy. Actually, it flew under the radar of pretty much all major awards competitions for the film. The most notable award it did end up receiving was the Best Composer award and Palme d’Or nomination at the Cannes Film Festival.
Fortunately, the work did get noticed in other ways. Studio A24 worked with the Safdie brothers again on 2019’s “Uncut Gems,” which reminded us that Adam Sandler is one of our strongest actors working today when he chooses to turn it up. And, as I mentioned before, folks took notice of Robert Pattinson’s metamorphosis after this movie, and he not only returned for another A24 movie (“The Lighthouse,”) but he was signed for roles in major movies with Christopher Nolan and Matt Reeves. And, truth be told, I think this makes “Good Time” more successful than any award could’ve made it (although I’m sure a nomination still would’ve been nice.)
Jared Douglas Tonsfeldt
I’ve loved movies all my life and it’s a dream come true to be able to share about my views on film! My favorite Director is Alfred Hitchcock and my favorite movie is Dr.Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb.
