Excitement follows Safdie Bros Robert Pattinson Starrer “Good Time” in Official Competition at Cannes 2017
I’ve collated some of the initial media comments announcing that the Safdie Bros GOOD TIME will be in official competition at Cannes 2017. Â I’m liking the positive reaction:
After 19 months of slaving with GOOD TIME, it’s a surreal dream to play in competition @Festival_Cannes. We can’t wait to share it.
— SAFDIE (@JOSH_BENNY) April 13, 2017
A SURPRISE FROM A24
Most of the surprises of Cannes typically arrive on screen, but the appearance of Moonlight label A24’s Good Time, by Benny Safdie and Josh Safdie, seemed more of a wish than a reality in the run-up to the announcement. Described by its star Robert Pattinson as “really hardcore kind of Queens, New York, mentally damaged psychopath, bank robbery movie,†it co-stars Jennifer Jason Leigh and Barkhad Abdi and brings with it a gust of fresh air to the red carpet.
Safdies Crack Competition
New York-based sibling directors Joshua and Benny Safdie have quietly snuck into the Cannes ranks over the years. Their debut “The Pleasure of Being Robbed†was the only American film in Directors’ Fortnight in 2007, and it was followed up there by “Daddy Longlegs.†Their more recent work has screened at other festivals, although the gritty junkie drama “Heaven Knows What†had the kind of scope and sophistication of directors on the brink of wider acclaim. Now they’re about to get it with “Good Time,†a competition selection starring Robert Pattinson alongside Benny Safdie as thieving siblings escaping a threat to their lives over the course of one tense night; acting opposite Pattinson, Safdie is said to portray a mentally disabled character, a risky move for any actor but one that will be an especially intriguing gamble for these audacious filmmakers to pull off.
“Good Time†is one of four films from A24, riding high after its Oscar success with “Moonlight.†The company also has Yorgos Lanthimos’ reportedly unsettling “The Killing of the Sacred Deer†in competition, while “Prayer Before Dawn†and John Cameron Mitchell’s sci-fi love story “How to Talk to Girls at Parties†are heading to midnight. A24’s substantial presence this year, alongside the Netflix news, is further proof of Cannes reflecting major shifts in the film business.
A range of unconventional American players — from Sofia Coppola to the Safdie brothers, Noah Baumbach to Netflix — will populate this year’s Cannes Film Festival competition lineup. …
But the announcement particularly marks a next phase for the American independent movement, with Baumbach and the Safdies stepping into the Cannes competition limelight for the first time.
The Safdies, the indie filmmakers behind such quirkfests as “Daddy Longlegs†and “The Pleasure of Being Robbed,†take perhaps the biggest notch up with “Good Time,†starring Robert Pattinson and Barkhad Abdi; many of their festival appearances have been of the more niche sort. (In France this time of year, they’ve had previous entries in the Cannes-parallel Directors Fortnight.)
Their movie and others will seek the favor of a jury headed by Pedro Almodovar, himself a Cannes mainstay, from a country (Spain) that this year has…no movies in competition.
Heavy hitters and hot tickets: Cannes 2017 is as mouthwatering as ever
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Good Time, by the indie New York film-making brothers Josh and Benny Safdie, was described by Thierry Frémaux as a genre movie, and by its star Robert Pattinson as a “psychopath bank-robbery movieâ€. It will certainly attract the curiosity of those at Cannes who might expect a project like this to be confined to a sidebar like Un Certain Regard or the Directors’ Fortnight, but not the competition.
There are no Coen or Dardenne brothers this year, but I’ very excited about the Safdies. Benny and Josh Safdie will present Good Time, starring Robert Pattinson.
The Hunt for the Palme d’Or Is On
Making their debut appearances at these dizzy heights are France’s Robin Campillo, Korea’s Bong Joon-ho and three Americans: Noah Baumbach and brothers Ben and Joshua Safdie. … he USA will be banking on four titles (by Coppola, Haynes, Noah Baumbach and the Safdie brothers).
Fremaux always likes to toss a wildcard or two into his lineup. Last year, it was Ade’s Toni Erdmann, which paid off well. The year before, it was Valerie Donzelli’s Marguerite & Julien, which hardly finished the race. In 2017, that wildcard would be the Safdie brothers’ Robert Pattinson starrer Good Time, which marks a huge step up to competition for the two New York-based directors, whose previous feature, Heaven Knows What, had its world premiere in the Venice Horizons sidebar. (Pattinson, however, has played in a few Cannes films before.)
Why are there no American films from big studios?
Because they were not ready. George Clooney had told me at the Cesar Awards that “Suburbicon†wouldn’t be ready in time, and Alexander Payne’s “Downsizing†is opening later this year. Ridley Scott’s “Alien: Covenant†is opening right before Cannes, and we were not going to show the last installment of “Pirates of the Caribbean.†But we’re happy to show films from Noah Baumbach and the Safdie brothers, who are making their first step in the official selection of Cannes and doing so in competition, as well as welcoming back Sofia Coppola and Todd Haynes. [My emphasis]
Among the higher-profile (i.e., American) films at the festival this year are new works from Noah Baumbach (The Meyerowitz Stories, with Adam Sandler, Ben Stiller, Emma Thompson and Dustin Hoffman), Todd Haynes (Wonderstruck, with Julianne Moore), Yorgos Lanthimos (The Killing of a Sacred Deer, with Colin Farrell and Nicole Kidman, who also star in The Beguiled), and brothers Ben and Josh Safdie (Good Time, with Robert Pattinson, Barkhad Abdi and Jennifer Jason Leigh).
Bring it!
Can we have Rob’s quote on the poster? Bloody brilliant!