Review of “Good Time”

***1/2 out of five stars

Currently showing at Celebration! Cinema RiverTown in Grandville

A bank heist gone awry with two brothers, a smart one and a not-so-smart one.

Reminiscent of “Of Mice and Men” but instead of working on a farm, “George” and “Lennie” rob a bank. “Curly” messes up their plans to buy a farm with rabbits. And George goes to White Castle (without Lennie).

The opening sequence with the therapist administering a psychological test to the mentally handicapped Nick was eerily similar to the interview of the replicant Leon at the beginning of Blade Runner. The same feeling of dread watching Nick getting frustrated and angry and ready to explode. And instead of a Voight-Krampff device, we have Connie, Nick’s brother, intervening to deflect the explosive rage.

Then Connie (Robert Pattinson) and Nick (Benny Safdie) go rob a bank. What follows is a tragicomedy of errors with Connie continuing to make plans to save his brother from prison.

The film also reminded me of the Scorsese/Griffin Dunne dark comedy “After Hours” with Connie navigating a gauntlet of assorted night denizens and locales, including a neon lit amusement park, in an effort to get the required cash to bail out Nick.

Robert Pattinson has definitely gone well beyond his Twilight years and is almost unrecognizable beneath the facial hair. He proves he can act. Whereas Jennifer Jason Leigh has little to do as Connie’s put upon girlfriend who certainly does nothing in her typically manic wheelhouse, Buddy Duress as Ray, Connie’s accidental accomplice, provides a solid counterpoint to the rhythms of Connie’s scheming.

The percussive synth-like score, as well as the accelerated cinematography, give the film a fearful sense of urgency and chaos. The film was scored very sparingly and, as such, was very effective. It caught my ear in a way like Mica Levi meets “Tangerine Dream.”

Although perhaps too derivative, still the Safdie brothers have begun to carve out a bit of their own unique filmmaking style with this crime thriller.

Someone needs to make a list of all the bro-pairs making movies out there. There are a lot more than you’d think.