The late 2000s saw a flux of pop culture teen romance movies. Audiences were lining up for see the latest in the Harry Potter or Twilight franchise. In the years since, the stars have used their fame to invest in indie arthouse films. Daniel Radcliffe broke into the Indie scene with films like Horns and the delightful Swiss Army Man.
Kristen Stewart got recently collaborated with director Olivier Assayas for the films Clouds of Sils Maria and Personal Shopper.
Now Robert Pattinson is taking his turn with the film Good Time.
A bank robber takes drastic measures trying to collect enough bail money to free his brother from prison.
Good Time is a fine film. It’s fast paced and very tense from beginning to end. It pulls out all the tropes one would expect of a good crime thriller and more. From the opening bank robbery scene to it’s high stakes finale, audiences will be on the edge of their seats. The film follow the story of Connie Nikas, a vigilante with a knack for a life of crime. He and his brother pull off a lowkey bank robbery, but during the chaotic runaway his brother gets captured. After failing to get the funds for bail together, Connie goes through a series of follow up crimes to try to get his brother out.
The film was helmed by the Safdie brothers, Benny and Josh. Having only helm one feature before back in 2009, this was a good effort. The story was compelling and the characters were relatable. The film has a steadily quickening pace, and things always felt like they were about to be up ended. One of the standout qualities of the film is the soundtrack, which just adds to the ever looming danger.
Robert Pattison is at the top of his game in this film. He showed he was more than a sparkly vampire with a quality performance in The Lost City of Z earlier this year. His performance here proves he is an acting force to be reckoned with. He is almost unrecognisable. He is terrifying and commands every scene he’s in with fear and machismo. If he keeps moving his career along this path, he will definitely be a household name once again.
The rest of the cast is also strong. Jennifer Jason Leigh brings a weighty performance with the overly emotional girlfriend, although she is a tad underutilised. One of the directors, Benny, plays Connie’s brother Nick. His performance as a mentally handicapped delinquent is emotional and causes viewers to feel for him in every tragic scene he is in.
While highly entertaining, the film isn’t without it’s technical faults. One of the most glaring issues is the cinematography. Most of the dialogue is covered through uncomfortable close ups. There’s no real coverage of a scene so it’s hard to root character within the action. While the film is drenched with incredibly tense and stressful situations, they are just strung together by this loose motivation. Things just kind of happen without being rooted in a justified reason.
All in all, Good Time is a great indie film. Robert Pattison steals the show with a fear inducing performance. The Safdie brothers prove that their subsequent films should be highly anticipated. The film does have it’s technical faults that take away from some of the rewatch value, but it is definitely worth checking out.
Rating: [star rating=”3″]