Good Time

Crime thriller movies have had an interesting history with Hollywood ever since the 1930s. It's been evolving with each passing decade and has formulated it's own criteria and story formats along the way. Among the factors that are typically found in the genre, the most common are heists that go terribly wrong that end up creating tense situations with law enforcement, characters without a moral compass, greedy people getting their comeuppance, climatic shootouts, and a family connection being a redeeming factor (or one of them) for the main protagonist. My exposure to the genre has its limits but in my fair share of them I've enjoyed Pulp Fiction, Memento, The Godfather Part 1 and 2, Reservoir Dogs, and The Town. While most of the critically success entries are commonly found in the pre-2000s era, there are still a handful of them among the stale wannabe flicks in the past decade to shake things up in certain ways to remind audiences how effective the genre can be. Recently trailers in select theaters appeared for a unique looking entry for the aforementioned category, Good Time, with Robert Pattinson leading role (yes, that main actor most remembered for the Twilight film series who's undergoing a quest to shake off that part of his career in favor of independent movies) and showed an interesting style for a simple premise with some thrilling suspense. I went into the half-packed small auditorium filled with great air conditioning (during the heat wave outside) ready to see if it was worth the positive buzz and left it very impressed over the riveting experience.

Plot: The plot follows a street hustler trying get enough money to bail his mentally handicapped brother out of jail after a botched bank robbery. While that sounds straightforward like other crime films with a similar premise, what helps this standout are the characters (especially the main protagonist), the style that accompanies this adventure, the excellent music score, and how dirty/gritty the shenanigans get. One thing to keep in mind is that the misadventures take place throughout one entire night leading into the following morning. It follows the lengths he's willing to go to save his brother and serve his own needs, which digs him deeper and deeper into trouble. The situations carry an uncomfortable tense nature about them considering if something seems easy, that indicates a mistake was made and imminent trouble keeps finding him. Another thing worth noting is that even though this is a crime thriller, it doesn't need guns to increase the tension at hand and for all of the worst things that could have occurred, the death count is surprisingly low. Overall Good Time carries an unpredictable storyline packed with nerve-racking situations surrounding the main protagonists stupid reckless decisions to how far he'll go in trying to fulfill his own monetary needs.

Characters: The character to focus on is Constantine "Connie" Nikas (Robert Pattinson). Connie is an immoral, unredeemable, moronic street hustler trying to get his brother out of jail after a botched bank robbery. Robert gives his best performance in this role in how his street smart character adapts to bigger problems caused by his lack of common sense as well as his selfish ego for both himself and those surrounding him. The supporting characters are all unique with great performances from the cast to the point where describing them would possibly spoil the film but one thing to keep in mind is that anyone Connie comes into contact with will end up worse off than they were before. Honorable mentions for those performances go to Corey (Jennifer Jason Leigh), Dash (Barkhad Abdi), Ray (Buddy Duress), and Crystal (Taliah Webster). A special mention goes to Nick Nikas for the believable and respectful performance as a mentally handicapped individual given by Ben Safdie (who's also one of the directors of this film). Overall Good Time does an excellent job in bringing grounded people into the story through the wonderful performances of the cast.

Overall Consensus: Good Time gives the crime drama genre a unique take through Robert Pattinson strong lead performance, realistic characters, uncomfortable tensions bolstered by great music score, interesting visuals, and dramatic up-close face shots. ⭑⭑⭑⭑⭑🍿🎟

Reasons to watch it: You like any of the aforementioned actors. You like crime drama thrillers with a unique visual style, great musical score, and a few uneasy cringeworthy moments that takes place in New York with realistic characters. You want to see Robert Pattinson sparkle as a selfish egotistical lead character. You want to see how unintentionally funny it can be sometimes. You enjoy watching the main protagonist dig themselves deeper into trouble. You enjoy films with ironic titles. You want to see an independent movie standout outside of the blockbusters currently in the theaters.

Reasons to avoid it: You dislike any of the aforementioned actors. You dislike crime drama thrillers with drugs, bank robberies, and a dirty city life. You dislike usage of close-up face shots. You dislike independent movies.

Coming up next: So far September-versary 1: The Movie Menace is off to a great start with an impressive crime drama thriller with Good Time. Now it's time to transition to remake of an adaptation of a Stephen King novel, IT. This will be an interesting case due to the fact that they are apparently splitting the original in half between the perspective of the kids and that of the adults. The trailers looked very creepy, which makes this more inviting for a fall scary experience. Tune in next time as Screening Spectacles will venture into a Stephen King adaptation that we all hope will be better than dismal The Dark Tower!