This might come off as snobby, but I haven’t been too familiar with Robert Pattinson’s work up until this year. I saw the first Twilight movie, and it was nearly impossible to be aware of pop culture without knowing how hugely popular he had become because of that franchise.
Even just knowing that has made Pattinson an intriguing figure. His effort to get away from Edward Cullen and establish himself as an actor, not just a pop culture personality and heartthrob, has resulted in an interesting filmography over the past five years. Pattinson isn’t trying to attach himself to another franchise. He appears to be challenging himself, working with filmmakers whom he admires.
As a result, Pattinson has had a good year as an actor. Earlier this year, he had a supporting role as an explorer helping a British officer navigate the Amazon to find a hidden ancient city purported to be full of gold in The Lost City of Z. But with Good Time, Pattinson very much has a lead role, carrying a 100-minute thrill ride as Connie Nikas, a small-time crook with big ambitions and street smarts that get him way over his head.
Connie’s heart appears to be in the right place. He wants to help his younger brother, Nick (Benny Safdie, also the film’s co-director), who was left mentally handicapped by an accident years ago. Connie seems to be in some denial about his brother’s condition, or at least how it should be treated. But maybe he also likes that it gives him some level of control over the child-like Nick. Nick goes along with whatever his brother says and won’t challenge Connie.
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Connie knows enough about how to pull off the robbery, giving the teller a note that tells her he’s armed and wants $65,000. It briefly looks as if bank policy works against him. The teller doesn’t have that kind of money in her drawer, and if she has to go to the vault to get the rest, who’s to say she won’t hit an alarm or alert co-workers or bosses? But the teller is scared enough to give Connie the money without causing any sort of scene in the bank.
The two brothers escape without encountering any security or police and have a change of clothes planned in a nearby alley. (Nick is more concerned with getting the restrictive mask off his face than whether or not they got the money.) But the getaway doesn’t go as smoothly as planned, thanks to the dye packs included with the money. Covered in red dye, the brothers ditch their ride and attempt to find a place where they can hide the money and get the dust off their faces.
Yet because they had to run from their dye-filled getaway car, Connie and Nick don’t get out of the neighborhood. So when the police are patrolling the streets looking for two people who may have just robbed a bank, two people wearing hoodies to hide their faces look rather suspicious. Connie may have been able to talk his way out of the police stopping them, but Nick panics and makes a run for it. Connie is able to get away from the police, but Nick isn’t as quick-thinking and is eventually arrested.
From there, the main thrust of the plot is set in motion. Connie needs to bail his brother out of jail. With his condition, there’s no telling what might happen to Nick. Will he say or do the wrong thing that gets him beaten up — or worse? How will he get by in unfamiliar surroundings without his brother or grandmother to support him? Using the bank money to bail Nick out won’t work because it’s stained with red dye. A bail bondsman tells Connie that he needs to come up with $10,000 — and quickly if he wants to get his brother out that night.
It’s really a no-win situation for Connie. How can he possibly come up with that kind of money in a matter of hours? He can’t rob another bank. His girlfriend (Jennifer Jason Leigh) can’t help, unless she steals her mother’s credit card. (And even so, what bank or credit company is going to allow that large a transaction without asking some questions?) And Connie doesn’t know anybody who can set him up with another kind of job that could result in a very quick payday.
Once again, Connie is in denial over a situation involving his brother. Or does he somehow think he come up with a miracle? Connie might be better off just leaving his brother and trying to get out of town. But he doesn’t have those resources. The bail bondsman has the money he never would’ve been able to use anyway. Connie is treading water and making it up as he goes along, though several people he encounters give him reason to hope, even when he should know better (and probably does, deep down).
Besides, Connie is loyal to his brother. Nick is virtually all he has. And Connie is certainly all Nick has. He can’t just leave him, especially when he’s responsible for his brother going to jail in the first place. Connie’s world is small and feels like it’s shrinking by the minute. Yet he’s never willing to stop trying, which is surely a big reason why he’s in this predicament to begin with. Settling for a normal life of delivering pizzas or whatever work might be available was never going to be enough.
Pattinson certainly isn’t trading on his looks here, yet he also has to be a charmer as he tries to weasel his way and smooth-talk his way into various situations. The real acting revelation here is Benny Safdie, who plays Nick with an innocence and anger that’s fearsome, but the trauma he’s suffered (physical and emotional) is heartbreakingly apparent on his face. That surely applies to Connie too on some level, but he’s better able to cope with it — or deny it.
Good Time takes place in a decidedly unglamorous world. It’s dirty and gritty, a hopeless place you would hope to avoid, with an unsettling synthesized score. The direction by Josh and Benny Safdie immerse us in that setting by frequently keeping the camera tight on Pattinson and whomever else he’s sharing a scene with. Escaping never seems quite possible, and the police (or another threat) could seemingly pop up anytime in the neighborhood they share with Connie.
Whatever is up next for the Safdie brothers is worth looking for. This seems like a step to bigger and bolder projects. Unlike Connie, their world appears ready to open up.
