At first I thought I was in the wrong theater….. seemed to be a weird documentary in a mental hospital. It didn’t take too long to determine that all was well!
While I only ventured to one of the Twilight series films, and was not a fan, I absolutely loved Robert Pattinson’s performance in this film. He is picture perfect throughout. The filming is spectacular in that you feel that you are in every scene.
Oscar nominee Jennifer Jason Leigh does a nice turn as Pattinson’s girlfriend in this wild New York City romp. I had flashbacks to Martin Scorcese’s brilliant “After Hours” with Griffin Dunne and Rosanna Arquette. Murphy’s Law comes to mind a lot!
Hats odd to Benny and Josh Safdie who have put together a doozy of a film. I am a sucker for zany and unusual films and they are particularly gratifying when I go into them cold. I had not heard of the Safdie brothers but intend to check out their previous few efforts soon.
Along with Pattinson’s brilliant performance several others are worth noting. Benny Safdie plays Pattinson’s special needs brother and he does so in spectacular fashion, from the opening scene and throughout. Benny Duress is hysterical as a very recent parolee who is not following the book for good ex con behavior. Academy award nominee Bakhad Abdi (“Captain Phillips”) is terrific as a night shift security cop at an arcade park.
The film is shot in a crazy, herky jerky fashion which adds to the chaos and anxiety of the experience. Add to all of that a terrific soundtrack, driven by Daniel Lopatin, and you have a winner and high expectations for more from the Safdie brothers.
While the ending is a bit of a letdown I left the theater whistling a happy tune.
It wasn’t until after the fact that I learned that “Good Time” had received a nomination for the Palm d’Or at Cannes. I was not surprised.
