This article was written exclusively for The Film Magazine by Leoni Horton of Leoni Horton Movies.
Good Time (2017)
Directors: Benny Safdie, Josh Safdie
Screenwriters: Ronald Bronstein, Josh Safdie
Starring: Robert Pattinson, Benny Safdie, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Buddy Duress, Taliah Webster, Barkhad Abdi
The Safdie Brothers’ gritty thriller Good Time thrusts the viewer into a single, frantic night in New York City alongside a charismatic, morally compromised protagonist. This film marked an important leap for Josh and Benny Safdie, whose raw, improvised filmmaking style has steadily evolved into a distinctive voice within contemporary American independent cinema. Their earlier, unflinching portrayals of life on the margins caught the attention of notable actors such as Robert Pattinson, whose involvement gives the film a magnetic central performance.
At the center is Connie Nikas (Robert Pattinson), a fast-talking, manipulative hustler who orchestrates a bank robbery that leaves his younger brother Nick (Benny Safdie) in custody. Nick, who has learning disabilities, is quickly imprisoned at Rikers Island, and Connie sets off on a desperate, night-long mission to secure his release. The plot becomes a relentless, high-stakes odyssey through the underbelly of Manhattan and Queens, charting Connie’s attempts to raise bail money and devise improvised plans to free Nick.
Connie treats every person he meets as a means to an end. He lies, seduces and deceives with effortless charm, always calculating the next move. His schemes range from impersonating others to breaking into closed spaces in search of drugs and access to resources. These actions reveal him as both dangerous and oddly hypnotic: he is cruel and self-serving, yet his charisma makes him riveting to watch. Pattinson layers the character with nuance, balancing sleaze with a strange form of tenderness, suggesting that beneath the reckless behavior lies a compulsion as much as a choice.
One of the film’s most disturbing sequences involves Connie exploiting racial bias for his escape, culminating in the brutal beating of a Black security guard and the theft of his uniform. The resulting racial profiling and police response are portrayed with unsettling realism. While the film is very much a crime story about characters on the fringes, it also exposes uncomfortable truths about policing and prejudice, showing how systems intended to protect can instead criminalize victims and bystanders.
The Safdies’ commitment to realism is evident in their casting and story development. They often work with non-professional actors and real-life experiences to shape characters and dialogue. Buddy Duress, who plays Ray, contributed directly to the script through diary-like notes and personal accounts. His raw monologue in the film, delivered with intense, ragged energy, brings authenticity to the film’s portrait of a world beneath the city’s polished surface.
Sean Price Williams’ cinematography is crucial to the film’s tone, mirroring the urgency and disorientation that drive Connie’s night. Shot on 35mm with a widescreen frame, the film’s grainy texture and saturated neon palette create a claustrophobic, almost hallucinatory atmosphere. Williams’ intrusive close-ups and dynamic camera movement heighten the sense of confinement and chaos, while Daniel Lopatin’s pulsing, abrasive score keeps tension taut. Only in moments when Nick is away from Connie does the film shift to calmer lighting and quieter music, suggesting the possibility of normalcy without his brother.
The Safdie Brothers retain their improvisational approach even as the narrative gains momentum. Connie’s ability to adapt and think on his feet feels organic because the filmmaking itself embraces spontaneity: shooting on the streets without permits, reacting to whatever situations arise, and leaning on the unpredictable energy of real locations. This method results in a tightly wound, anxiety-inducing experience that avoids clichéd crime-thriller tropes while delivering authentic, immediate danger.
At its core, Good Time is also a film about the bond between siblings. That relationship can be easy to miss amid the nonstop action, but it provides a subtle emotional current. Connie’s reckless determination to free Nick suggests an underlying love that drives him to extremes. The Safdies, who describe themselves as creative partners and collaborators, capture that complicated loyalty—flawed, destructive, yet deeply felt.
22/24
Written by Leoni Horton
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