543. Good Time; movie review

GOOD TIME
Cert 15
101 mins

BBFC advice: Contains strong language, violence, drugs misuse, sex

So, as the last throes of 2017 are upon us, the scramble to watch the must-sees finally arrived at the acclaimed performance of Robert Pattinson in Benny and Josh Safdie's Good Time.
By the way, after 101 minutes, I have no idea why it is called Good Time because none of the characters seem to be having one.
Anyway, I can report that, despite the movie being offbeat, Pattinson deserves his praise, well and truly putting his Twilight image to bed.
He stars as Connie - a desperate brother who is devoted to his mentally handicapped sibling (Benny Sadie) but is afraid he will admit to his family's criminality when being interviewed by doctors.
Thus, the opening scenes see him pulling his brother out of a medical room - and during the next sequence they are holding up a bank.
No surprise that the raid, despite its initial promise, goes badly and Connie tries more and more outlandish manoeuvres to help get them back on track.

Good Time also includes a cameo from Jennifer Jason Leigh as a used girlfriend and Taliah Webster as a teenager caught up in the whirligig.
Meanwhile, Buddy Duress plays a fellow felon who also becomes caught up in Connie's recklessness.
The Safdies' movie is very much set in the underbelly of American society where drugs, bail bonds, sex and making a fast buck are as much part of the language as food and drink.
This is the backdrop which goes part way to explaining Connie's ultra-erratic decision-making.
Its darkness is present from a beginning to and end and there are deliberately no easy resolutions because, in real life, there are none.
However, neither that, nor the acting, as good as it is, will help it into my must-see list.

Reasons to watch: great performance by Robert Pattison
Reasons to avoid: its subject matter may be too dark for some

Laughs: none
Jumps: none
Vomit: none
Nudity: yes
Overall rating: 7.5/10

Star tweet
@mmahardy Just finished watching the surreal, bizarre, fantastic crime movie Good Time. It was my first Safdie Brothers movie and I loved every second of it. Also, my perception of Robert Pattinson has completely changed. He’s brilliant here - unhinged and reckless.

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