[Review] Good Time: A Different Kind of Crime Film

First, I'd like to thank Bravos Pictures for inviting me to an advance screening of Good Time. I initially went in eager to see Robert Pattinson's performance, and unexpectedly, the film's overall quality turned out to be quite good!

Good Time is a film about "love," but here, "love" doesn't refer to the romantic kind seen in romance films; instead, it's the love between family and friends. I believe everyone yearns to be loved, and also wishes that those they cherish can feel their love. Thus, we strive to love others, hoping to give them the best through our efforts. However, the term "best" is highly subjective; we can never truly know if the other person genuinely feels it's "the best," nor do we know if the love we give is suitable for them, or if it's inadvertently causing them harm.

In the film, Connie (played by Robert Pattinson) believes that the mental institution and its related treatments are unsuitable for his brother Nick (played by Ben Safdie). Therefore, during a therapy session, he takes his brother away and involves him in a bank robbery, hoping to acquire a substantial amount of money to start a new life. However, after this robbery fails, Connie is forced to flee with Nick, ultimately leading to Nick's arrest. Afterward, Connie exhausts every method to raise money, even planning to use his girlfriend Corey's (Jennifer Jason Leigh) credit card to cover Nick's bail, but it's still not enough. So, Connie devises another way to rescue Nick: secretly taking him out of the hospital. Of course, Connie fails again, getting entangled in even more complex situations, and ultimately still unable to free Nick.

In fact, Connie's repeated attempts to free Nick show how deeply he cherishes his brother and genuinely believes he's doing what's best for him. His reason for wanting to take his brother away is also because he feels his brother is receiving very poor treatment in the mental institution, and he wants his brother to have a better life. But is what he's doing truly what's best for his brother? No one can really know. In the film's final scene, Nick gradually engages in the activities at the mental institution. He doesn't show any particular expression, just as he barely showed any other emotions throughout the film. We likely won't know what kind of life he truly desires. However, judging by Connie's fate at the film's end, Nick in the mental institution won't be receiving the same level of care as before, at least not in the short term. Beyond the brotherly bond between Connie and Nick, there's also the grandmother of the young girl Crystal (Taliah Webster), who cares deeply for Connie, and Crystal herself, who is immature but yearns to be loved like an adult. Both of them do different things out of love.

Good Time runs for 99 minutes, a suitable length for this relatively uncomplicated, smaller-scale story. The film's opening scene, depicting Connie and Nick's bank robbery, feels seamless, while the shaky camera work enhances the realism of the scene. The red powder and color palette add a sense of danger and tension, deeply engaging the audience's emotions. Subsequently, the film continues to use numerous shaky camera shots and close-ups to capture Connie's attempts to rescue Nick. These close-ups particularly highlight the actors' nuanced performances and strengthen the audience's connection with the characters. One of the film's greatest characteristics is its psychedelic color palette and lighting, using strong red and blue background lights to make the film look unnatural and visually striking. This, combined with the pulsing electronic music, creates a unique kind of crime film.

Although Good Time stars Barkhad Abdi and Jennifer Jason Leigh, who have both won Oscar Best Supporting Actor/Actress awards respectively, the most eye-catching performance is delivered by lead actor Robert Pattinson. Several years ago, when Robert Pattinson starred in the Twilight series, he was twice nominated for a Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Actor. After watching his performance in Good Time, I truly feel he has undergone a complete transformation, with a significant difference from his previous acting. This time, he sheds his former vampire heartthrob image to play a brother who will stop at nothing for his sibling, undergoing several costume and hair changes. But no matter how his hair color and attire change, we can still see his concern for his brother in his eyes, and through his expressions and movements, we can feel his panic and nervousness during the escape. In his final scene, a single look in his eyes reveals the changes he's undergone after so many events, as well as the helplessness and regret of his "fate." It now seems he has always been a capable actor; he just hadn't tried acting in this way before.

As a crime film, Good Time is indeed very fast-paced, and the escape and rescue scenes are incredibly tense. What I appreciate most is the director's cinematography, color grading, and lighting, which are rarely seen in other crime films and truly showcase the director's unique style. However, when depicting Connie's motivation to take his brother away, the film briefly touches upon elements like his brother's illness and the mental institution, but only scratches the surface, neglecting Nick's story and wasting these socially relevant elements.