Crime Heist Thriller On Max Is Guaranteed To Give You A Panic Attack

As mentioned, Josh and Benny Safdie directed Good Time, based on a script developed by the brothers alongside their long-time editor Ronald Bronstein. While the film is far from the first directorial effort by the brothers, Good Time serves as their first major breakthrough and allowed the duo to get enough attention and critical acclaim to court Sandler for their Uncut Gems project, which they had worked on for nearly a decade before its eventual release.

Good Time stars Robert Pattinson alongside a small band of talented actors, including Benny Safdie, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Buddy Duress, Brooklyn rapper Necro, and Captain Phillips‘ Barkhad Abdi.

Today, Good Time touts a highly impressive critic score of 91 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, in a stunning testament to the film’s runaway success. After being optioned for distribution by A24, the movie was selected to compete for the coveted Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival, though it ultimately lost to the Swedish black comedy The Square.

Many critics have cited Good Time as Robert Pattinson’s best performance, and argued that the film is an instant classic, despite the inherent claustrophobia and high-intensity pacing, which has been called nauseating by viewers with a sensitive constitution.

The narrative of Good Time centers on Robert Pattinson‘s Connie Nikas as he attempts to support his brother Nick, who is prone to fits of explosive rage as a symptom of his social issues and cognitive impairment. In a bid to secure money for housing and medical care, Connie takes Nick along for a small-scale bank heist, which ultimately lands Nick in the highly dangerous Rikers Island prison.

Needless to say, Connie feels wholly responsible for his brother’s incarceration and plots a jail-break scheme with the assistance of his girlfriend Corey.

After the duo fails to scrape together enough money to bail Nick out of jail, Connie learns that Nick has been sent to a local hospital after suffering serious injuries from a fight with another inmate. While the thought of his brother being mistreated infuriates him, Connie recognizes that Nick’s transfer into the hospital is advantageous for an escape plot and makes his way to the facility to bring his brother home safely.

I won’t reveal too much about the rest of the film’s plot here, but suffice it to say that things only continue to spiral further and further out of control until the film reaches an explosive conclusion.

REVIEW SCORE

Clearly, high-anxiety filmmaking is a real specialty for the Safdie brothers, as the duo have made several of the most intense films to ever grace the screen. Good Time is certainly not for the faint of heart, but it’s a non-stop thrill ride sure to satisfy audiences who enjoy sudden rushes of cinematic adrenaline. If you’re interested in catching Good Time today, the film can be streamed on Max.