7.8 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
A bank robber finds himself unable to evade those who are looking for him.
Starring: Robert Pattinson, Benny Safdie, Taliah Webster, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Barkhad AbdiDrama | 100% |
Thriller | Insignificant |
Crime | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.39:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
English SDH, Spanish
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
UV digital copy
Slipcover in original pressing
Region A (locked)
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 2.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
If Cliff Robertson is remembered at all these days, it’s probably for two radically different portrayals, one as future president John F. Kennedy in PT 109, and as Charly, the titular character who transforms from a badly "retarded" (as it was termed then) man to a genius (and back again) in the unexpected 1968 hit that brought Robertson what was at the time a fairly controversial Academy Award for Best Actor. Wagging tongues back in the day lamented the fact that Robertson had won the statuette due more to savvy (and relentless) marketing efforts rather than for any inherent quality of his acting, but even given that perhaps debatable assertion, there’s little doubt that portraying a character with some sort of mental (or frankly physical) affliction can often be a “golden ticket” to at least a nomination in awards season, as everyone from Jane Wyman (Johnny Belinda) to Dustin Hoffman (Rain Man) to Tom Hanks (Forrest Gump) can attest. There’s also a bit of a danger in playing someone with some sort of handicap, and some may argue that Benny Safdie lurches right up to a potentially objectionable line in his portrayal of mentally challenged Nick Nikas, the younger brother of Connie Nikas (Robert Pattinson), ostensibly the focal character of Good Time, even if most of the most touching emotional content of the film is resolutely focused on Nick. Safdie, who also co-directed the film with his brother Josh (who himself co-wrote the film with Ronald Bronstein) offers an arresting if arguably too self conscious performance as Nick, a seemingly sweet kid who is evidently prone to outbursts of anger, at least as evidenced by the riveting opening scene of the film, where Nick is apparently being interviewed by some kind of therapist (the film just kind of launches into its tale in medias res, something that’s perhaps further exaggerated by a patently bizarre and perhaps even distracting intermittent placement of opening credits that by my reckoning lasts around twenty minutes).
Good Time is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Lionsgate Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.39:1. While this was shot on good old fashioned 35mm (according to the IMDb), there are moments in this presentation that actually more resemble 16mm, with seemingly intentional fuzziness and a heavier than usual grain field (see screenshots 9, 13 and 15). There doesn't really seem to be any rhyme or reason as to these variances, other than that they crop up regularly throughout the presentation and add a kind of appropriately gritty texture to the swirling emotional undertow of the film, though there are some minor compression hurdles along the way. While detail levels are obviously constrained due to such approaches, the rest of the film actually has excellent detail and fine detail levels. There are some unusually graded sequences, including some kind of neat looking purple and red scenes (apart from the "red" scenes when an explosive charge in the stolen money detonates), and fine detail does take a slight hit in those moments, as it does in a number of other dimly lit environments. The Safdies tend to like a fairly active camera, and with that kind of handheld approach sharpness can be a challenge simply because the frame is so highly variable.
Good Time features a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mix which presents the film's kind of interesting sound design with clarity. Despite a lot of urban material, there's a certain claustrophobic quality to the mix that offers (again) a kind of hallucinogenic aspect to ambient environmental noises. Outdoor material does nicely establish spatial distance in effects, but the overall feeling of this track is kind of closed in and interior sounding. The interesting score by Oneohtrix Point Never establishes some of the best, if at times relatively subtle, surround activity. Dialogue is rendered cleanly on this problem free track.
I'm not sure I would actually give Good Time a hearty recommendation to a general filmgoing public simply because it's such an unusual entry from a number of standpoints, and I can easily see how it could chafe at a number of individual's sensibilities. That said, for those with a tolerance for perhaps questionable decisions in how to frame the tale of a mentally challenged adult, Good Time offers Pattinson an unusual role, one fans of the actor may well want to check out. While I had my own qualms about some of the story elements and characterizations, I personally found the film fascinating if maybe a bit too stylized for my own personal taste. Technical merits are generally strong for those considering a purchase.
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