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| Connie Nikas Coming Out of A Bottle of Acid in a Poster for Good Time |
The film Good Time,
directed by the brothers Benny and Josh Safdie, is an absolute thrill ride and
it epitomizes how a very good film can be made on a small budget.
Summary:
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| Connie and Nick Nikas in a Poster for Good Time |
Robert Pattinson stars as
Connie Nikas, a Resident of Queens of Greek descent. He cares a great deal
about his brother, Nick, played by Benny Safdie, and does try very hard to do
right by him. Connie shows up at the beginning of the film to take his brother
out of a counseling session. You see, Nick has developmental disabilities, and
Connie just wants to do right by him. Of course, the counselor also wants to do
right by him. The views of family members versus the views of “the system”
often conflict. Often there is not a clear answer of who is in the right. On
the one hand, the questions during the counseling session are making Nick cry,
on the other hand, Connie does not have the best of intentions either.
The main thrust of the
film starts when Connie manipulates his brother Nick into attempting a bank
robbery with him. A chase ensues, and Nick gets arrested. Connie tries to use
the stolen money to get Nick out on bail, but since the money is dirty, he ends
up having to go to his girlfriend, the significantly older Corey Ellman, who is
played flawlessly by Jennifer Jason Leigh. Ellman has quite a fickle
personality, and this obviously means that she has a great deal of trouble
making decisions. This is further evidenced by the fact that she lives with her
mother, with whom she has a bad relationship; they bicker and argue frequently.
Connie lies to Corey about the reason why his brother is in jail, but it is all
for naught as when Corey tries to use her bank card to bail Nick out, she finds
that her mother has canceled it. The night spirals downward even further from
here.
Nick had gotten into a
fight with another inmate, and was placed in a hospital under guarded
supervision. Connie finds out which hospital, finds the police guarding a room,
and breaks out the heavily bandaged man handcuffed in that room. He proceeds to
further manipulate his way to a very bad neighborhood in residential Queens,
and into an old lady’s house, where he attempts to distract her 16-year-old
granddaughter, Crystal, played by newcomer Taliah Lennice Webster, with sex.
Keep in mind that Robert Pattison is 31, and we are to assume that Connie is of
a similar age. The inmate Connie broke out of the hospital wakes up, and pries
off his bandages, only to reveal that he is a stranger, Ray, played by Buddy
Duress. Connie manages to calm him down with painkillers, and they trick
Crystal into accompanying them on a trip in her grandmother’s car.
References on the
television throughout the film infer that law enforcement is getting closer to
finding Connie, we also see police talking to people seen previously in the
film. We learned that Ray had a wild ride of his own the previous day, and left
a bottle full of acid and a bag of cash in an amusement park ride a few streets
down from where he, Connie, and Crystal are currently laying low. Ray and
Connie break into the amusement park, leaving Crystal in the car. They are
cornered by Dash the security guard, played by Barkhad Abdi. Dash calls the
police, but Ray and Connie managed to overwhelm him. Connie then impersonates the
security guard, and the paramedics and police take away Dash, who has been
force-fed some of the acid. At the same time, Crystal is also taken in for
questioning. Connie and Ray escape to Dash’s apartment in his security vehicle.
Upon arriving at the apartment, it is becomes apparent that Dash engages in
illicit activity as he is living well above his means. Connie has Ray call his
dealer and demands the cash he needs to bail out his brother Nick. The dealer
leaves, ostensibly to get the cash, but in actuality to get a gun with which to
kill Connie. It is at this point that the police close in on them. Ray
accidentally kills himself when trying to escape the apartment, and Connie is
taken away by the police.
In the final scene, the
therapist from the first scene in the film takes Nick Nikas to a boring,
monotonous group activity for those with developmental disabilities, while
remarking that Connie is now in the right place, and that Nick is in the right
place, too.
Analysis:
This film is incredibly
thought-provoking. It goes beyond questions of right and wrong, and into
degrees of personal accountability. One thing that should be noted is that this
entire film after the bank robbery and before the final scene takes place over
the course of just one night. During that night, we get to delve deep into the
psyche of Connie Nikas. It is extremely clear that he loves his brother a great
deal. At one point, he tells Nick that it is just the two of them against the
world. It is true that they both have a very aged grandmother, but she is
incapable of looking after them. Connie obviously believes that the bank
robbery will be simple and easy. He lacks foresight, and this makes him a poor
planner.
After the robbery,
Connie’s dive into further crime is gradual. It all starts with a lie he tells
Corey as to why his brother has been incarcerated; he tells her that Nick
lashed out against his therapist. Connie clearly does not like the idea of Nick
going to therapy, and this is consistent with toxic masculinity as well as some
Greek-American cultural norms, which believe that asking for help is a sign of
weakness. Throughout the film, Connie consistently believes that things are
either out of his control or most definitely not his fault, or both. For
example, Crystal mentions that her last boyfriend was her drug dealer, who was
significantly older than herself. This makes it a non-issue to Connie when he
starts to force himself upon her a while later. Ironically, Connie later
attempts dealing drugs himself with the bottle of acid.
It is as if Connie does
not notice how deep he is slipping. He quite willingly suggests drugging the
security guard and posing in his place. Breaking and entering into the
amusement park is nothing to him. Given that Connie’s first significant act in
this film is a bank robbery, we can only hazard a guess into his past, although
we are made aware at one point during the film that he has a record; we see a
past mug shot of Connie on the news.
Connie shows a great deal
of willingness to manipulate others. He is aware that Corey has psychological
issues that give her weakness and malleability, as well as a willingness to
help with finances. It is hinted that before the events of this film, they were
planning a trip to the Caribbean, perhaps to be assisted with the money from
the bank robbery. Nick is also incredibly malleable, doing whatever others tell
him to do. Connie uses this to his advantage in getting Nick to assist him with
his various nefarious schemes. The therapist is equally able to convince Nick
to do his bidding. It is not in Nick’s best interest to spend his days in
monotonous, clinical group activities. However, Nick does not have an in-built
group of friends, and the clinical system is still often ill-versed in the
social needs of those with disabilities.
The amazing thing about
Connie is that he probably believes that everything he has done, including the
bank robbery and the actions of this fateful night are without question and in
the right. Connie is extremely well-intentioned, but he has shown himself to be
addicted to bad behavior, and even deeply sociopathic. The fact that he thinks
nothing of kidnapping a 16-year-old girl or having sexual relations with her is
proof of this. At one point, Ray asks him about his intentions. Connie makes it
clear that he is focused on the here and now, and not the consequences of his
actions. There is something deeply flawed about Connie Nikas, but he is
portrayed in such a way that we can still have a tremendous amount of empathy
for him.
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Robert Pattinson on the Cover of Wonderland Magazine
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This portrayal, of
course, comes courtesy of Robert Pattinson. Pattinson was thrust into the film
world by the Harry Potter and Twilight films. He jokes that if he had his way,
he would be a nobody in a British dive bar playing guitar and singing for a
living. Pattinson is absolutely stunned and surprised by his fame, but not
unhappy with it. He has spent his time since the Twilight franchise becoming a
fixture in the independent film community. Pattinson is definitely a more
artistic type, as is shown in his quite recent photo shoot for Wonderland
magazine, in which he pays tribute to Yayoi Kusama, who is arguably the
greatest artist alive today. In the photo shoot, Pattinson pays homage to
Kusama by wearing gender-ambiguous costumes similar to hers, and posing amongst
backgrounds evocative of her art. An artist is truly fearless when they are
willing to deny social constructs such as gender, and Pattinson is clearly that
brave.
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| Yayoi Kusama with One of Her Famed Pumpkins |
In addition to acting,
Good Time is also noteworthy for its locations. The film shies away from the
glitzy and famous locations in New York City, instead placing itself amongst
bad neighborhoods, mostly in Queens. There have been far too many films
exploiting the New York City of tourists, and far too few focusing on the city
of everyday people. The Safdie brothers are to be praised for their realism.
Good time defies one
specific genre. It is incredibly philosophical, action-packed, and dramatic all
at once. It is clear that none of the characters in the film are actually
having a Good Time, but this is a very, very good film, and you, the audience,
will.
Five out of five stars,
or 10 out of 10. Absolutely flawless.
Excellent, well thought out review!
ReplyDeleteThank you very much!
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