MORAL OF THE MOVIE

Life can be very unpredictable, especially when you’re involved in the dark world of crime.

WHO I THINK WOULD MOST ENJOY THIS MOVIE

Adrenaline junkies will really get a thrill from this movie as it constantly builds tension for an anxiety-filled experience for its viewers.

ADDITIONAL NOTES/COMMENTARY

I chose Good Time for today’s review in honor of the recent DC Fandome event (virtual comic-con for DC movies and TV) that presented the first trailer for The Batman (with Robert Pattinson as Batman) this past weekend. That trailer was absolutely amazing and got me super excited for the film when it comes out sometime next year. Now, the reason I’m drawing this connection is because some of you may only know Robert Pattinson from the Twilight Saga, so you might not be entirely convinced of his acting and ability to carry the Batman mantle. Good Time is one of Pattinson’s latest movies (in addition to The Lighthouse, High Life, The Lost City of Z, etc.) that puts Pattinson’s incredible acting talent on display. So, if you’re not entirely convinced of Battinson, then you should watch Good Time and you’ll probably change your opinion of him as I did. However, Good Time is much more than a vehicle for Pattinson’s acting abilities; rather, it showcases the up-and-coming Safdie brothers’ incredible writing/directing capabilities. The title of this film is quite ironic since I didn’t have a good time at all when watching the movie. Funnily enough, that’s the point though. The entire direction that the Safdie brothers take with this film is to show you the anxiety-inducing experience of being in crime-induced crisis. You see the desperation and severely distressing situations that are caused by a chain of illicit events leading to more and so forth. If there is one thing that I can say about Good Time, it’s that it is unpredictable from the get-go. The audience is constantly thrown into the stressful situations along with the characters. It truly feels like a rollercoaster (very similar to Uncut Gems, which was the Safdie brothers’ most recent film). Through the film’s cinematography and score alone, the viewers get a deep sense of uneasiness as they are put in the unpredictable world of crime and its nerve-wracking consequences. I really like this film because it is a perfect example of the potential that any film has to elicit deeply emotional reactions from its viewers. At several points in the film, I jumped back in my seat from certain shocking moments that completely caught me off guard and left me with my mouth open in awe. In the end, despite not being a “good time”, Good Time is an entirely unique cinematic experience full of great acting, cinematography, and direction that puts its viewers in the very stressful shoes of its characters for an empathetic rollercoaster of anxiety and tension.