Quartile rating: 7.5/10 · 1 rating
After a botched bank robbery lands his younger brother in prison, Connie Nikas embarks on a twisted odyssey through New York City's underworld to get his brother Nick out of jail.
Good Time is a feverish, neon-soaked thriller driven by Robert Pattinson's career-redefining performance as Connie Nikas — frantic, magnetic, and morally ambiguous throughout. The Safdie Brothers craft an almost unbearably tense one-night odyssey through New York's underbelly with a distinctive lo-fi urgency and Oneohtrix Point Never's pulsing synth score cementing its singular identity. Cinematography is exceptional — grainy, close, claustrophobic, shot with an intimate handheld intensity that keeps the viewer inside Connie's desperate perspective. Novelty is high: the Safdies' voice is unmistakable, blending neo-realism with exploitation-era NYC energy in a way that feels genuinely one-of-a-kind. The plot, while propulsive, is intentionally episodic and picaresque rather than tightly structured, which can occasionally feel meandering. The ending, while poignant and thematically resonant (Nick's fate recontextualizing everything), lands somewhat abruptly and may feel unsatisfying to some despite its emotional logic.