‘Good Time‘, the 2017 film by brothers Benny and Josh Safdie, was for me one of those films that left me glued to my seat at the end and when the credits rolled I asked myself: ‘What did I just see?’. A very different experience than watching another action film or another film noir or another film about the most catastrophic day and night in the life of a hero. ‘Good Time‘ could fit into any or all of these categories, but it is different – a film that captivates and disturbs, a film with a hero who commits one bad act after another and makes fatal mistakes, but who you can’t help but sympathize with. The only association that seems valid to me is the one with films about the New York underworld of the ’70s, with its famous or common mobsters, with the violence that seems gratuitous to many but which is a way of life for these men. A world without hope and a hero who, even when he intents to do good, only manages to get himself into even worse misfortune and crime.
The story unfolds at a fast pace, in tune with the events on the screen, except for the opening and the ending. In the scene that opens the film, Nick Nikas, a developmentally disabled young man, is undergoing a psychotherapy session, probably imposed by the court because he assaulted his grandmother. He is visibly stressed when his brother, Connie, bursts into the room and takes him out. Shortly after, the two rob a bank and leave with a bag full of money, but the police are on their trail and Nick is captured. Will the disabled boy survive in prison, among the violent policemen and inmates? Connie is ready to do anything to free him, including finding 65 thousand dollars to pay the bail. Legal means of obtaining this money are quickly exhausted. Less legal opportunities take Connie to the dark streets of New York, on a night full of violence and unexpected encounters. The disaster will be visible in the light of the morning. The storm is over and Nick returns to psychological treatments.
The Safdie brothers’ cinematic style is very original for an action film. More than half of the frames are close-ups, which allows the audience to get to know and understand the characters. The actors are formidable. Benny Safdie plays the difficult role of Nick and completely enters the psychology of the character. For Robert Pattinson, the role of Connie is, I think, one of the best of his career. A man with the best intentions, but who has only known crime and violence and therefore does not know how to channel even his best intentions. Everything ends in catastrophe for him. Several secondary characters are excellently drawn. ‘Good Time‘ exposes one of the possible versions of hell located a few blocks away from where some of the richest and happiest people in the world live. A disturbing film, a film that should be depressing, but is so well made that it’s hard not to be absorbed by its dark magic.