Good Time (2017)
Story overview
Good Time is a 2017 crime thriller drama that follows a bank robber's desperate attempts to free his brother from jail after a heist goes wrong. The film depicts a tense, chaotic night in New York City as the protagonist navigates dangerous situations and makes increasingly risky decisions. It explores themes of family loyalty, desperation, and the consequences of criminal choices through gritty, realistic storytelling.
Parent Guide
This R-rated crime thriller contains intense criminal situations, strong language, and mature themes unsuitable for children and younger teens.
Content breakdown
Contains scenes of criminal activity, police chases, physical confrontations, and high-tension situations involving weapons and threats.
Features intense, chaotic sequences and morally ambiguous situations that could be unsettling for sensitive viewers.
Includes frequent strong profanity and crude language throughout the film.
May contain brief suggestive references or situations, but no explicit sexual content based on typical R-rated crime thriller standards.
Likely contains depictions of drug use or references to substance abuse common in crime genre films.
Features high-stress situations, desperate characters, and tense sequences that create significant emotional intensity.
Parent tips
This R-rated crime thriller contains intense scenes of peril, criminal activity, and strong language that make it unsuitable for younger viewers. Parents should be aware that the film portrays realistic criminal behavior and high-stress situations that could be disturbing or confusing for children. The movie's fast-paced, chaotic narrative and morally ambiguous characters require mature perspective to process appropriately.
Parent chat guide
Parent follow-up questions
- What did you notice about how the characters were feeling?
- What are some safe things to do when you feel scared?
- Who are the people who help keep us safe in our community?
- Why do you think the characters made the choices they did?
- What are some better ways to solve problems than what we saw in the movie?
- How can we tell when someone is making a good decision versus a bad one?
- What consequences did the characters face for their actions?
- How does desperation affect people's decision-making?
- What responsibilities do we have toward family members who make poor choices?
- How does the film portray the criminal justice system?
- What commentary might the film be making about urban life and desperation?
- How do economic circumstances influence moral choices in the story?
🎭 Story Kernel
At its core, 'Good Time' is a brutal examination of performative masculinity and the corrosive nature of codependency, all under the relentless pressure of American systemic failure. Connie's entire frantic odyssey isn't driven by love for his brother, but by a narcissistic need to maintain his self-image as a protector and a 'doer.' His every action, from the botched bank robbery to exploiting Crystal's empathy, is a desperate performance to prove his own competence, revealing that his 'good time' is the adrenaline of chaos itself, a drug that makes him feel alive while destroying everyone in his orbit. The brother he claims to save is merely the MacGuffin for his own self-destruction.
🎬 Visual Aesthetics
The Safdie brothers weaponize anxiety through a frenetic, invasive visual language. The camera is a relentless pursuer, using extreme close-ups and shaky, handheld shots that deny the audience any objective distance, trapping us in Connie's subjective panic. The color palette is a sickly, synthetic neon—acid greens, lurid pinks, and fluorescent yellows—that bathes Queens in an otherworldly, toxic glow, mirroring the artificial highs and chemical desperation of the characters. This isn't stylish noir; it's the visual equivalent of a stress headache, where every frame feels sticky with sweat and bad decisions.
🔍 Details & Easter Eggs
💡 Behind the Scenes
Robert Pattinson, determined to shed his 'Twilight' image, immersed himself in the role of Connie. He reportedly wore the same clothes for days to cultivate the right grimy feel and improvised extensively, including the entire monologue about his 'grandfather' to the security guard. The film's palpable tension was achieved through guerrilla-style filmmaking across real Queens locations, with many scenes shot using hidden cameras and non-actors reacting to Pattinson in real time. The electronic, pulsating score by Oneohtrix Point Never was composed concurrently with the edit, its synths designed to mimic 'the sound of a panic attack.'
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Trailer
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