Good Time (15.)
Directed by Josh Safdie, Benny Safdie.
Starring Robert Pattinson, Benny Safdie, Taliah Webster, Barkhad Abdi, Necro and Jennifer Jason Leigh. 102 mins.
Pattinson seems to have devoted the last five years to trying to wash away the stain of being Edward Cullenhands. The I'm-a-serious-actor-really route is a course paved with dangers for the pretty young thing trying to slip clear of the teen fandom, but after a few faltering steps he's beginning to catch up with Kristen Stewart. He's probably got the last of the stench off with this committed and convincing turn as a New York lowlife Connie, who has an Of Mice And Men relationship with his slow-witted brother Nick (Safdie.)
After an early bank robbery sequence, the bulk of the action takes place over one long, cold night in Queens during which Connie tries, with increasing desperation, to raise the bail money to get Nick out of jail. Connie is resourceful and quick-witted, but not quite resourceful and quick-witted enough. The film's narrative trajectory is to hurtle him into a series of dead ends from which he has to quickly regather himself, re-scheme and go again to get us to the next strand in the story. It's like a bad dream, the kind where you never get anywhere.
The brothers Safdie coat the picture in a layer of 70s scuzz, the kind of scuzz the NY tourist board would have you believe they'd chased out years ago. They shoot a lot of scenes in almost oppressively tight close-up, but their control on the material is impressive. Events are propelled along by an insistent, almost overpowering score by Oneohtrix Point Never, which is like a Tangerine Dream take on The French Connection. The music definitely seems to know where it's going, the film a little less so, but it's a decent ride.
Directed by Josh Safdie, Benny Safdie.
Starring Robert Pattinson, Benny Safdie, Taliah Webster, Barkhad Abdi, Necro and Jennifer Jason Leigh. 102 mins.
Pattinson seems to have devoted the last five years to trying to wash away the stain of being Edward Cullenhands. The I'm-a-serious-actor-really route is a course paved with dangers for the pretty young thing trying to slip clear of the teen fandom, but after a few faltering steps he's beginning to catch up with Kristen Stewart. He's probably got the last of the stench off with this committed and convincing turn as a New York lowlife Connie, who has an Of Mice And Men relationship with his slow-witted brother Nick (Safdie.)
After an early bank robbery sequence, the bulk of the action takes place over one long, cold night in Queens during which Connie tries, with increasing desperation, to raise the bail money to get Nick out of jail. Connie is resourceful and quick-witted, but not quite resourceful and quick-witted enough. The film's narrative trajectory is to hurtle him into a series of dead ends from which he has to quickly regather himself, re-scheme and go again to get us to the next strand in the story. It's like a bad dream, the kind where you never get anywhere.
The brothers Safdie coat the picture in a layer of 70s scuzz, the kind of scuzz the NY tourist board would have you believe they'd chased out years ago. They shoot a lot of scenes in almost oppressively tight close-up, but their control on the material is impressive. Events are propelled along by an insistent, almost overpowering score by Oneohtrix Point Never, which is like a Tangerine Dream take on The French Connection. The music definitely seems to know where it's going, the film a little less so, but it's a decent ride.
