Robert Pattinson Giving the Performance of his Career in GOOD TIME

 

It features a strong performance from the criminally underrated Robert Pattinson, Collider

[Pattinson] once again demonstrating his capacity and range in a commanding, robust performance, The Hollywood News

Not sure if you’re following my retweets of the initial reaction to the film at Cannes this morning, but to say they are overwhelmingly good is an understatement.  Here’s the first print reactions, I will update regularly so stay tuned.  UPDATE: Here’s the link for LETTERBOXD (currently has positive reviews as at 26 June 2017  – may include spoilers – this will update automatically as users add their reviews)

THE SWEET

The Hollywood Reporter (#Cannes70)

Led by Robert Pattinson giving arguably his most commanding performance to date as a desperate bank robber cut from the same cloth as Al Pacino’s Sonny Wortzik in Dog Day Afternoon, this is a richly textured genre piece that packs a visceral charge in its restless widescreen visuals and adrenalizing music, which recalls the great mood-shaping movie scores of Tangerine Dream.

Variety (#Cannes70)

Robert Pattinson hits a career high in Benny and Josh Safdie’s nervy, vivid heist thriller, which merges messy humanity with tight genre mechanics. … A career-peak performance from Robert Pattinson, as a scuzzy Queens bank robber on a grimly spiraling mission to break his mentally handicapped brother out of jail, will attract more eyeballs to this A24 release than the rest of the Safdies’ oeuvre combined, though this “Good Time” is still no commercial picnic. Rather, it’s exciting proof of its makers’ ability to chafe and challenge audiences in a growing range of registers.

Indiewire (#Cannes70)

The actor is astonishing in the Safdies’ rambunctious heist thriller, which takes place in a single frantic New York night. … This time, Pattinson provides the propulsive energy that makes the whole apparatus churn. Pushing beyond the muted roles for which he’s best known, the actor transforms into a vain, reckless character driven against impossible odds.

ScreenDaily (#Cannes70)

The Safdie brothers unite with Robert Pattinson for an “unforgettable ride” …  With Robert Pattinson giving a raw performance full of gutter urgency, this powerfully immersive thriller from directors Josh and Benny Safdie crackles with unpredictability, telling the story of a two-bit criminal who finds himself running into and out of jams one nightmarish evening, his journey becoming more surreal and absorbing at every turn.

The Hollywood News (#Cannes70)

… but it is absolutely Robert Pattinson’s film, the young actor once again demonstrating his capacity and range in a commanding, robust performance as Connie. This is perhaps Pattinson’s best performance yet, the actor hypnotic in every frantic scene as his character’s world continues to spiral out of control.

The Wrap (#Cannes70)

Of all the moving pieces in “Good Time,” Pattinson appears, on paper, as the biggest question mark. To put it mildly: his work in front of the camera has been inconsistent. Sometimes it appears he wants to perform, other times his inertness takes hold. If he contains some mystical on-off switch, the Safdie brothers have figured out how to keep the light burning. Pattinson delivers a manic, adrenalized performance in the vein of Robert DeNiro in “Mean Streets,” a film to which “Good Time” often pays homage.

Fotogramas (Spain) (#Cannes70)

‘Good Time’ also contains the best interpretation of Robert Pattinson to date.

The Guardian (Peter Bradshaw) (#Cannes70)

Pattinson turns in a strong performance as a career crim in the Safdie brothers’ exciting, if sometimes bewildering take on Elmore Leonard-style crime dramas … The film has its own kind of mad, migrainey energy and individuality, and Robert Pattinson gives a strong, charismatic performance. (Rating: 3 out of 5)

The Culture Whisperer (#Cannes70)

… finally! – someone has found a proper use for Robert Pattinson.

Total Film (#Cannes70)

The performances are as vivid as the colour-scheme (entire scenes are drenched in eye-stinging primary colours), though in Safdie’s case, he also manages to capture Nick’s fear and fragility in a well-judged turn that could so easily have offended. Pattinson, for his considerable part, is all shocked hair, blazing eyes and forward momentum. So often still and brooding in previous roles, it’s like watching a flock of birds explode off a lake.

Eye for Film (UK) (#Cannes70)

The Safdies invest their own knowledge of their home turf to give it all a frenetic and authentic sense of urgency. Pattinson is more than a match for what is yet another break-out role from the confines of the Twilight franchise. (4.5 stars out of 5)

Time Out (#Cannes70)

Robert Pattinson burns up the screen in this fierce, fast-moving thriller from New York filmmaking siblings the Safdie Brothers. … Pattinson is great in this, surely his best post-‘Twilight’ performance to date: he’s quick and coarse yet he also lends the character a glint in the eye and a spark in the brain – he’s always more than just bad. (4 stars out of 5)

Cine-Vue (#Cannes70)

The acting is great throughout and Pattinson shines as Connie: grubby, compromised, smart and charming but ultimately unable to shake his own sordid meanness.

Awards Daily (#Cannes70)

I’ve never appreciated Pattinson as an actor, not even for his acclaimed roles in THE LOST CITY OF Z or COSMOPOLIS. But he’s on fire here with what’s easily a career-best performance. Alert, unselfconscious, physically and temperamentally loosened with a casually spot-on American accent, he’s 100% present as Connie, pulling off both the ghetto drama and the offbeat comedy with conviction. As such he’s a bona fide contender for Best Actor in Cannes and could find traction in the upcoming awards season.

Hey U Guys (#Cannes70)

As Connie, Robert Pattinson is tremendous. He completely dominates the film and is in virtually every scene. As all his schemes unravel, his desperation and desire to escape is palpable. Connie quickly adapts to new situations and assumes different identities: polite young man, charmer, bank robber, security guard, tough guy. Pattinson laps up the challenge and gives the performance of his career. He could be up for a best actor prize here in Cannes for his part in this grungy, funny thriller.   

Ioncinema (#Cannes70)

White is Right: Pattinson Shines in the Grime of the Safdie Bros. Urban Squalor … Pattinson once again proves his abilities to disappear into a fully fleshed out characterization, here as a selfish yet sympathetic deadbeat.

The Playlist (#Cannes70)

After a long period of ascent in which the signal to noise ratio for the young actor has been consistently out of whack, here he turns in his first unequivocally commanding performance: bringing absolute commitment, wolfish energy and Method-y charisma. Robert Pattinson is, finally, fantastic.

The Times UK (#Cannes70)

Robert Pattinson makes you root for his character, Constantine Nikas, from the start

Vanity Fair (#Canne70)

It’s a dream kind of role for an actor looking to be taken seriously—all muted and serious and streetwise—and Pattinson seizes the opportunity with understated confidence. (Note: did not like the film)

New York Magazine | Vulture (#Cannes70)

Most of this is on the shoulders of Pattinson, doing some of the best work of his post-franchise journeyman career. His Connie is both capable and foolhardy, empathetic and scuzzy in the extreme.

Slant Magazine (#Cannes70)

Good Time is at its strongest when it keys its intoxicating aesthetic to Robert Pattinson’s performance.

Collider (#Cannes70)

It features a strong performance from the criminally underrated Robert Pattinson.

Thrillist (#Cannes70)

This isn’t just a good performance, this is a shot-out-of-a-cannon, everything’s-on-the-line, last-mile-of-the-marathon turn from an actor that many, myself included, failed to recognize during the early stages of his career…. Pattinson’s take on a Queens dirtbag with an adrenal gland on overload, and the police hot on his tail following a botched robbery, proves he’s the real deal.

International Cinephile Society (#Cannes70)

With his deep-set eyes and pale complexion, sporting a fuzzy goatee, Pattinson is a perfect face for the environment Good Time is set in.

Pajiba (#Cannes70)

Sporting his worst haircut since David Cronenberg’s Cosmopolis, Pattinson underlines his character’s frantic existence, with busy body language and frenetic, angry speech …

France24 (#Cannes70)

Robert Pattinson takes the lead part as Connie, a frenzied tough guy who “looks after” his vulnerable sibling by involving him in the abovementioned heist. … Restless and exciting, “Good Time” features a heady mix of grainy close-ups and long-lense shots from far away, powered by Oneohtrix Point Never’s pulsing electronic score (and an original song by Iggy Pop). It’s got the tempo, punch-ups and exhilarating chases required of the genre.

Ostrocines (#Cannes70)

Pattinson is the great revelation of this thriller from the makers of Daddy Longlegs (2009) and Heaven Knows What (2014).

Le Blog du Cinema (#Cannes70)

Led by an incredible Robert Pattinson  accumulating the most wise roles choices of each other, GOOD TIME becomes a hallucinating and hallucinating film as it advances.

Cine Chronicle (#Cannes70)

There is obviously something beautiful and sincere about seeing Connie (genius Robert Pattinson) …

Cinema Teaser (#Cannes70)

A very star-studded star (Robert Pattinson, as usual impressive) …

Liberation (#Cannes70)

As a rascal, Robert Pattinson splits the armor and can claim the award for interpretation.

Alfabetta2 (#Cannes70)

Thriller anxiety-provoking in the slums of Queens, New York, Into the Night acid, a run in a zigzag pattern with the camera glued to the former Robert Pattinson vampire face, excellent, disguised as toxic and clumsy bank robber, Connie.

Movies Room (#Cannes70)

Never, however, was so close to erasing the stigma of Edward as now. Good Time may be his best role in his career.

Financial Times (#Cannes70)

Robert Pattinson has delivered a winning performance of wide-eyed intensity in the Safdie brothers’ crime thriller Good Time. (Rating 4 out of 5 stars)

Irish Times (#Cannes70)

Just when you thought that Robert Pattinson’s post-Twilight career couldn’t get any cannier, along comes this frenzied running-man thriller from the Safdie brothers. Indie filmmakers Ben and Josh Safdie are not yet household names, unless, like savvy Pattinson, you’re a committed cinephile. … Connie, too, is a marvellously textured creation … and is imbued with the charisma of Robert Pattinson, who has never been better.   (Rating: 4 out of 5 stars)

The Skinny (#Cannes70)

Robert Pattinson gives a blistering performance (Rating: 4 out of 4)

LA Times (#Cannes70)

Since it premiered Thursday, “Good Time” has become one of the most critically adored movies of the festival

Film Journal (#Cannes70)

Robert Pattinson, in a truly career-defining performance …

Little White Lies (#Cannes70)

Good Time marks the full transition, as if his acting dirty laundry is now completely ice white once more and he can make great movies without the burden of his formative CV. He’s nothing short of tremendous here, taking cues from Robert De Niro circa Mean Streets as he channels a sense of constant exasperation, but in the most tamped down and poised way imaginable. He doesn’t ever strain to stretch this character too far or give him too much mystery or depth, emphasising that when it comes to his single-minded motivations, he’s something of a twinkle-toothed open book.

Movie Waffler (#Cannes70)

Yet, though the film is a stylish, neon lark, it doesn’t raise particularly interesting questions or make particularly interesting observations; you’ll have a fantastically good time with Good Time, which is worth something, if not everything.

W Magazine (#Cannes70)

Robert Pattinson gives the best performance of his career …

Film Companion (#Cannes70)

Robert Pattinson is excellent as Connie …

Toute La Culture (#Cannes70)

Benny and Josh Safdie plunge Robert Pattinson into a familiar family plot in the heart of New York. The visual and audible treatment of this film of robbery is worth its detour by the official competition.

Sight and Sound Magazine (UK #Cannes70)

Pattinson is playing for keeps, throwing himself into the Safdies’ shabby, stylised spin on street-level realism. … Pattinson imbues Connie with an enigmatic, desperate, directionless energy.

Cinema Movil (Mexico #Cannes70)

Pattinson, who finally found a character to manifest that talent that we had been feeling since filming youth films.

Butaca Ancja (Mexico #Cannes70)

Robert Pattinson , restless and determined, who delivers the best performance of his career …

La Jornada (Mexico #Cannes70)

Perhaps the only commercial endorsement of the film is the presence of Pattinson, who here proves to be much more than a pretty vampire. Almost unrecognizable in his incarnation of a lowlife, the actor expresses with aplomb his urgency to survive in a hostile environment where it seems condemned to lose.

CaimanCuadernosdeCine (Spain #Cannes70)

The performance of Robert Pattinson is essential to make the cocktail work …

The Film Stage (#Cannes70)

Robert Pattinson gives the performance of his career thus far as Connie Nikas, a wired, erratically dangerous, and unpredictable pariah who looks like he could use a good night’s sleep …  It’s for this impossibly delicate mode of storytelling and performance that both the Safdies and Pattinson deserve significant praise.

The Hollywood News (Syd Film Fest)

but it is absolutely Robert Pattinson’s film, the young actor once again demonstrating his capacity and range in a commanding, robust performance as Connie.  This is perhaps Pattinson’s best performance yet, the actor hypnotic in every frantic scene as his character’s world continues to spiral out of control.

Musobloke (Syd Film Fest)

Pattinson’s performance is pretty great.  These are the kind of roles that he should do more often as he fits in very well as someone who is really on edge.

Louder than Silver (#Cannes70)

His acting from the beginning until the end, was incredible. He gives everything for the role just like his character gives everything for his brother. Of course, Ben Safdie (Robert Pattinson’s brother in the movie) is amazing too, but we’ll see Robert in a way we’ve never seen before and he is the essence of this twisted nocturnal road-movie. Score: Platinum

The Lowdown Under (Syd Film Fest | Melb Film Fest)

Pattinson – losing himself completely in a mad, bad role both cunning and clueless – fires this furiously fun pulp fiction.

Film Fight Club (Syd Film Fest) (podcast – contains spoilers)

[Robert Pattinson] shows the hype is right after all – he can sustain the close ups.

Nocturno (Italy)

Pattinson moves in a state of grace, at the center of almost all the scenes of the film and endowed with a rough charisma that, as has already been the case with David Cronenberg, James Gray and David Michod, is bent surprisingly and enthusiastically to meet the needs of Safdie. (3.5 out of 5 stars)

Rama’s Screen (US)

And Robert Pattinson is marvelous, some say this is his breakout performance, I say it’s the performance that no one else but him could play. Pattinson becomes this desperate loser, part of you empathizes with him but part of you wants to see him get what he deserves. “Good Time” is a helluva way to end this summer season at the movies.

Flick Hunter (Fantasia FF | Montreal)

Robert Pattinson turns in his best on screen performance surrounded by a strong supporting cast. (3.5 out of 4)

Coming Soon (Fantasia FF | Montreal)

This is a terrific film that shows a new side of an actor you may or may not have written off as a franchise pretty boy. Think again.

Jay’s Movie Blog (Fantasia FF | Montreal)

…they made a pretty great film … (3¾ stars out of four)

Screen Anarchy (Fantasia FF | Montreal)

Constantine ‘Connie’ Nikas is wholly inhabited by Robert Pattinson; a performance brimming with surprises. Pattinson’s recent run of work has demonstrated many talents …

Hallu-cine (Fantasia FF | Montreal)

… the film itself, has already allowed Robert Pattinson , his popular headliner , to cross a landing.

Slant Magazine (US)

… and the marvel of Pattinson’s performance is how precisely the actor navigates the lies and pleading conviction innate in his character’s bravado.

Screen Anarchy (Fantasia FF | Montreal) (Video)

[Pattinson] is amazing in this film

The Virtual Nihilist (Film Comment Q&A | NY)

Pattinson gives a remarkable performance as the type of character he rarely gets an opportunity to play.

Award Circuit (US)

The film is a kinetic crime drama buoyed by Pattinson’s performance and the thrilling direction by the Safdies. Pattinson has never been better …

Darren’s World of Entertainment (NZFF)

Pattinson is watchable throughout …

Mondocine (France)

As a sort of collective fuchsia and anarchic hallucination carried by an excellent Robert Pattinson .. (Note: liked Robert didn’t like the film)

Moviemarker (Locarno 70)

However it’s [Pattinson’s] stand-out performance in ‘Good Time’ that really takes him to the next level.

4:3 (MIFF 2017 – Aust)

Robert Pattinson’s Constantine Nikas, wiry and manic in equal measure, is dangerous because he’s fearless

JoBlo (US)

Shockingly, star Robert Pattinson makes for an ideal De Niro stand-in, with his Connie Nikas a staggering change-of-pace for the actor. If enough people see this, it’ll officially end his TWILIGHT heartthrob days and mark him as an actor to watch … Pattinson is a stunningly good lead …

Buzzfeed (US)

“It’s the kind of performance that sticks with you, like a layer of grime that needs to be washed off”

Fanboynation (US)

Robert Pattinson gives the performance of his career as the no-goodnik Connie. The heartthrob pays no concerns to matters of likability with such a deplorable character, one that brings ruin to all who come across his path.

Uproxx (US)

The film hums with authenticity and a kind of amused familiarity with the peculiar moral code (and singular vernacular) of the frequently incarcerated. It’s about the underworld, and not the organized part. And it feels real.

AV Club (US)

Pattinson finally bursts out of the chrysalis of his pin-up boy celebrity. The metamorphosis from YA heartthrob into electrifying character actor is complete.

APNews | National Post  (US)

[Pattinson’s] performance — sensitive and controlled amid the chaos— is easily the best of his career.

Rolling Stone (US)

But it’s a never-better Pattinson who gives the film soul and a center of gravity. The actor invests Connie with a devotion to his brother that never slips into fake sentiment. There’s not an ounce of Hollywood fat in Good Time. It comes at you hard.

Harvey Karten (US)

in “Good Time,” [Pattinson] emerges as a genuine actor who could probably do anything.

Splash Report (US)

Robert Pattinson finally breaks out as an actor worth taking seriously after embodying with tenacity a desperate bank robber.

Collider (US)

Pattinson’s liberated, endlessly watchable performance is matched in kind by the Safdie brothers’ radical, limber style …

The Atlantic (US)

… one of Hollywood’s most genuinely exciting actors; Connie is certainly his finest performance to date. When Good Time hits its visceral lows, Pattinson keeps the movie from feeling like an exercise in futility, finding something human within a character who’s quickly losing himself in an atmosphere of total chaos.

Vogue (US)

The brothers in question are Connie (Robert Pattinson, excellent enough to erase all Twilight associations),

EW (US)

… but ­Pattinson anchors Good Time, completely selling Connie from the moment he bursts into the frame and delivering the best performance of his career. (This coming only a few months after a quiet, assured turn in The Lost City of Z.)

Refinery29 (US)

[Pattinson] the manipulative, selfish, absolutely electric antagonist of a movie that will bury itself under my skin just as much as that one scene did.

Wall Street Journal (US)

… starring Robert Pattinson as one of the more resourceful, shrewd and snakebit figures in crime-movie history. … The intensity of Good Time can be credited to the performances, to Daniel Lopatin’s often ferocious music and to the directors’ decision to frame everything so tightly, while shooting in the equivalent of CinemaScope.

LA Times (Justin Chang | US)

“Good Time” is Pattinson’s breakthrough, the most sustained and revelatory transformation of the actor’s career and, not coincidentally, the most extreme of his recent efforts to thwart the audience’s sympathies … The greatness of Pattinson’s performance makes it awfully hard not to root for Connie Nikas, but that’s no reason to mistake him for the hero.

SFist (US)

Connie is at times very unlikable. But as Pattinson plays him, you also can’t help but root for him, even as he’s using everyone around him to get what he wants through a combination of charm and mania. He’s moving so fast that people get sucked into his schemes before they have a chance to understand what they’re doing.

Paste Magazine (US)

Connie is played by Robert Pattinson in a performance so locked-in from the first second that it shoots off an electric spark from the actor to the audience: Just sit back, he seems to be telling us. I’ve got this under control.

Time Magazine  (US)

Pattinson is the real reason to see it: his Connie, wiry and intense, with beady, cracked-out eyes, is the kind of guy you’d cross the street to avoid.

Slate (US)

Having already admired Pattinson’s post-vampire work in David Cronenberg’s Cosmopolis and elsewhere, I wasn’t surprised to see him kill it in this role as a shambling antihero in the Dog Day Afternoon mode. With this movie, both Pattinson and the Safdie brothers have broken new ground in their careers; if you haven’t been keeping track of what either of them is up to, Good Time would be a good time to start.

New Republic (US)

The Safdie brothers’ new movie with Robert Pattinson breathes life into a waning genre.

Roger Ebert (US release)

.. most of what shines so well about “Good Time” can be traced back to Robert Pattinson’s performance, the best of an already-impressive career. He is impossible to ignore from his very first scene, …

Buzzfeed (US)

But Pattinson is great, carrying a film that sits entirely on his rangy shoulders, the handheld camera frequently jammed up tight on his face as he searches for a way out of whatever predicament he’s landed himself in.

Flavorwire (US)

… as one of the pleasures of Good Time is its willingness to keep spinning off in strange, unexpected directions. Content truly does inform form here; Connie spends the entire movie in a mode of desperate improvisation, and the film keys off that energy and spirit. “Don’t be confused!” he pleads at one point. “It’s just gonna make it worse for me!” And that’s pretty much the character’s M.O.

We Got This Covered (US)

Good Time is just that and little more, but Robert Pattinson’s performance deserves praise like “career-defining” and “best yet.”  Is Pattinson worth a whole additional half-star on his own? Yes – and probably more on some scales. (3.5 stars)

Consequence of Sound (US)

Good Time is a film of trembling anxiety, and while the score and the Safdies’ terrific direction both aid this, it’s Pattinson’s outstanding performance that pins even the most outlandish occurrences to a deep sense of emotion. The actor, having long abandoned the days of stiff paycheck roles for increasingly ambitious fare, delivers a feral star turn that should more than silence any remaining skeptics.

Screencrush (US)

Good Time is a uniquely exhilarating experience with a sharp, unflinching style and a magnetic performance from Robert Pattinson …  But Pattinson doesn’t rely on a showy performance to prove his dramatic talents here. He’s in almost every scene, and even his quieter ones – … – he’s completely electric. It’s an astoundingly good performance from start to finish.

Cinemalogue (US)

Good Time also provides a showcase of Pattinson’s versatility, as his ferocious transformation leaves behind the brooding British heartthrob persona on which he established his career.

Reason Online (US)

Robert Pattinson is a major surprise in a strange and wonderful new crime flick.

Movie Nation (US)

Robert Pattinson has his best role since he wiped off the “Twilight” glitter in as a stumbling, bumbling thief hurtling toward his fate in the ironically titled “Good Time.”

Creators (US)

Robert Pattinson does his best work to date in “Good Time,” a raw, roaring new movie from the Safdie brothers. Seeing him tricked out in cheap rhinestone ear studs and a poorly administered platinum dye job, and hearing him mumble baffling non sequiturs like “I think I was a dog in a previous life,” we realize that we’ve never met this actor before — where has he been?

Under the Radar (US)

It feels like Pattinson has had the tougher time shedding his vampire sparkle, but his transformative turn in Good Time should hopefully remedy that once and for all. … Pattinson plays a strung out (and likely drug-addled) criminal, a role so intentionally unglamorous that the actor’s pretty-boy looks are almost unrecognizable. (7 out of 10 stars)

LA West Media (US)

[B]ut with his basically unrecognizable performance in the Ben and Josh Safdie’s buzzed-about indie thriller, Good Time, the frenetic and bearded Robert Pattinson has officially arrived as well.

Movie Maker Magazine (US)

Pattinson devotes himself to the role to the degree that Good Time becomes one of his most unsettling and accomplished performances, walking the fine line between brotherly protection and self-interest.

NPR (US)

Pattinson has never undergone a transformation as revelatory as the one he pulls off in Good Time, a nerve-rattling new thriller from the sibling directors Josh and Benny Safdie.

Shanghai Daily (China) | San Mateo Daily (US) | Daily Herald (US)

And in close-up, we see Pattinson more clearly than ever before. His performance — sensitive and controlled amid the chaos — is easily the best of his career.

Movie Marker (#Locarno70 FF)

The main draw of Good Time however is Pattinson’s nervy, yet determined portrayal of Connie. A character that’s almost blissfully unaware of his own shortcomings and desperation. He feels responsible for his brother’s situation, yet lets himself become distracted by the smallest temptation. It’s his strongest performance to date and while his role as Edward Cullen in Twilight was his breakthrough, he’s now starting to define himself as a multi-layered and experienced actor.

The Cinema Monologues (YouTube review – Fantasia FF)

Pattinson as Connie is just wonderful – he is great.  He plays a complete pyscopathetic narcissist …

Flickering Myth (US)

Pattinson’s (who continues to deliver phenomenal work across the independent scene, giving a career-best performance here) … Adding to the always palpable sense of urgency is the creative decision to film most of the film with close-up shots of characters’ faces, which is an aspect that Robert Pattinson uses to tremendous effect. He is fittingly, constantly tense and sweating as the film rarely has a dull moment.

Artforum (US)

This is the Safdies’ biggest movie, and while the budget allowed them to work with the magnetic and gifted Pattinson and to shoot in an array of complex locations, they also held fast to their guerrilla filmmaking method.

Hypable (US)

This is Pattinson as we have never seen him. The suave British heartthrob that audiences are accustomed to is nowhere to be found. Pattinson inhabits the role of Connie entirely, filling the entire screen with his presence

Screen Rant (US)

Good Time’s inspired style, couple with Pattinson’s compelling performance, … are enough to carry the film past its narrative shortcomings… further demonstrates Pattinson’s abilities, as an actor.

Crome Yellow (US)

The film’s diverse, immersive cast is all in and Robert Pattinson turns in a career best. Connie is unhinged and struggling, but Pattinson makes him feel relatable and sincere. Pattinson has never been more gripping, drawing us into his angst and making the story feel lived in. There’s a complexity to Pattinson’s actions, and a depth that arises from them

Rewind Cinema (US)

The performances in this film are nothing short of amazing. The aforementioned Pattinson forces you to love him and hate him at the same time, keeping you on the edge of your seat while he tries to find anyway possible to free his brother.

Mass Appeal (US)

Good Time is nothing if not an excoriating testament to the things people will do to capture what they thought was promised to them, no matter what parameters they have to transgress.

The Silver Screen Analysis (US – Video Review)

Robert Pattinson has been building a strong resume lately out of some quality indie flicks, and this is yet another.  He create a shifty, determined, very uneasy character. One you definitely don’t like, but at the same time you don’t dislike and I really think the energy that Pattinson brought to this role heightened the material that he was working with perfectly.   Pattinson had a clear vision for this character and he pours himself into with the result that he was a person that as reckless as he was quick on his feet and I think this combination creates a character that you have to see out to the end of the story to see what happens to him.

Reverse Shot (US – MoMI)

What dynamism the movie retains during this frantic longueur can largely be attributed to the combustible performances of Duress and, in particular, Pattinson, who is much more smoothly effusive than in recent films like David Michôd’s The Rover, Brady Corbet’s The Childhood of a Leader, and James Gray’s The Lost City of Z, in which recessiveness and caution were, in different ways, the dominant notes struck by the actor.

i-dVice (US)

The British actor’s impulsive, adrenaline-fueled performance deserves all the “career-defining” kudos it’s been receiving.

Talk Film Society (US)

Pattinson’s performance is one of the best of his career; he embodies the deceitful, reprehensible, yet charming Connie perfectly.

615 Film (US)

“Pattinson steals the show with his portrayal of Connie.”

Mr Will Wong (Canada)

“it speaks well to Pattinson’s dedication to his craft that he attempts to perfect every aspect of the character. … At the end of the day much of the Movie’s success lies with Pattinson. His performance grounds the Movie and makes the audience empathize with a morally-ambiguous antihero even as he makes a series of ever more questionable choices in his quest to save his brother. In a summer of stand-out Independent Films this one promises a Good Time will be had by all.

Cinema Blend (US)

Robert Pattinson serves as the eye of the storm of chaos that is Good Time, and you never want to look away from him as the tension of the film methodically escalates. (4.5 out of 5 stars)

Washington Post (US)

Pattinson’s stumblebum character in “Good Time,” feels reverse-engineered to allow the former teen screen idol the attention he deserves for serious-acting chops, checking every box from aggressively antisocial tendencies to a startling physical transformation.

The Pitch (US)

Pattinson has been doing his best to distance himself from the Twilight movies that launched his career as a leading man nine years ago. With Good Time, let’s call that mission accomplished. He anchors the film with confidence, lending Connie a very lived-in quality despite working with an almost complete lack of backstory. He seethes with rage, and we can see he gives nary a thought to consequences.

Punch Drunk Critics (US)

But Pattinson, sporting a scraggly beard, shifty eyes, and a burning hunger, has never been quite like this before. (4 out of 5 stars)

Glide Magazine (US)

The tension is complimented by powerful performances from a mix of first-time actors and seasoned professionals, all anchored by Pattinson’s top-notch delivery. What results is a desperate, unflinching, note-perfect tale of brotherly devotion. (10 out of 1o stars)

Scene Creek (Canada)

Pattinson is unforgettable in the performance of a lifetime … (4 out of 5 stars)

Luiz and Reoli (Brazil)

Much of what makes this Good Behavior work so well is due to the performance of Robert Pattinson, undoubtedly the best of his career …

Richard Crouse (US)

You can practically smell him cigarette breath and flop sweat in a career high that really captures the late night desperation of a man on a mission. (3.5 stars)

The Globe and Mail (US)

Tense, immersive and excellently assaulting, Good Timeis hella time.

Now Toronto (Canada)

Pattinson’s performance is indeed flawless

Chicago Sun-Times (US)

featuring an impressively uncompromising performance by Robert Pattinson …

Solzyat At The Movies (US)

Pattinson disappears into the role …

Flickreel (US)

“[Pattinson] displays the most impressive acting evolution since the dawn of the McConaissance. … Pattinson has the charisma of a young Al Pacino as street-smart criminal Constantine “Connie” Nikas.  … It’s certainly a performance that’ll stick with me for some time and I hope it’ll stick with Oscar voters too.

Denerstein Unleashed (US)

I don’t know if Pattinson is improvising, but he creates the illusion of a character who’s entire approach to life improvisational. Connie doesn’t plan; he reacts and relies on his instincts.

Coming Soon (US)

If the eyes are the windows of the soul, Connie’s are spotlights. It’s an incredibly difficult and delicate bit of performance, but Pattinson manages with skill, never breaking a sweat (that we can tell) even as Connie does.

Nola (US)

… for anybody paying attention, it’ll go much farther to prove once and for all that Robert Pattinson is a far better actor than his teen-heartthrob roots might suggest.

The Nation (US)

Pattinson moves through Good Time in a kind of slip-swagger, teetering in perfect balance on the edge of menace and buffoonery. His Connie would be beautiful if he weren’t so revolting, frightening if he weren’t so manifestly feeble. I believed every second of Pattinson’s performance as much as I believed in the bathroom-sink bleach job that Connie gives himself as a disguise. His head glares with a falseness that can’t be faked.

ReelBob (US)

Pattinson’s performance is exceptional. (3.5 stars)

Seattle Times (US)

[T]he Safdies show a real knack for chase scenes — there’s one toward the end, filmed from above, that’s breathtaking — and for putting the right actor in the central role. Pattinson keeps you interested, even when the movie’s tone and pace wobbles.

One Guy’ Opinion (US)

Pattinson grabs the character from the very first and never lets up, gleefully embracing his quicksilver changes of mood and a cunning ability to react to every situation by trying to turn it to his advantage…It’s an aggressively propulsive performance …

Boston Globe (US)

[Good Time] re-establishes Robert Pattinson as one of the most charismatic actors of his generation. … Much of what makes “Good Time” work is Pattinson.  (3.5 stars)

Blu-ray.com (US)

it’s thrilling to watch [Pattinson] command the screen with blazing emotion. It’s tremendous work, and the Safdies know it, keeping their star front and center for this outstanding trip through the laboratory mice maze of life.

Tampa Bay Times (US)

From the moment Pattinson bursts into the picture we’re hooked on his bottle rocket vibe, set to go off any second in any direction.

Silver Screen Beat (US)

Pattinson has long been one of our great underrated performers, but here he exhibits a life, an energy beyond his strange magnetism

The Artery (US)

[Pattinson] slips into Connie’s sleazy skin without a trace of vanity, trusting his inherent magnetism to carry us along with a character who’s for the most part pretty despicable.

The Stranger (US)

But even without Duress, Good Time does what it means to do: It traps us with a protagonist who’s basically a piece of shit in every way, and, as a result, has nothing to lose. That somehow feels thrilling, terrifying, and, maybe most importantly, liberating.

Baltimore Magazine (US)

It should be noted that Pattinson, who has been trying, with mixed results, to transcend his vampire dreamboat past, is compelling in this role, fully committed to this scuzzy, twitchy, undeniably charismatic hustler. That being said, every once in a while the performance all but screams, “look ma, I’m method!”

Tulsa World (US)

The good things about “Good Time” is the chaotic, gritty character study at its center and a breakout performance by Robert Pattinson that proves there is no “Twilight” to this actor’s career.

Columbus Alive (US)

Pattinson brings out the layers in Connie in subtle ways, from the motivation of his love for his brother to his violent impulses and general sociopathic tendencies. It’s a hell of performance.

Williamette Weekly (US)

Amid the chaos, Pattinson as Constantine cuts a fascinating figure.

The Stake (US)

But it’s still Pattinson who anchors the movie, bringing the swirling chaos into focus and giving it some semblance of meaning and significance. His performance is a revelation.

Loose Lips (LFF – London)

Robert Pattinson comes of age as an actor in Benny and Josh Safdie’s stylishly raw thriller Good Time.

Eric D Snider (US)

And man, does Robert Pattinson ever sink his teeth into the role of a psychopath! With a meaty Queens accent and an unpredictable temper, Pattinson makes Connie a compelling jerk whose increasing sliminess makes him a figure of horrified, open-mouthed fascination.

Looking Closer (US)

But this isn’t the Pattinson we know. This is Pattinson reborn, an actor who has thrown caution to the wind. All of the restraint, the repression, the slow-burn, the simmering energy that made him a generation’s sex symbol in the Twilight movies has been cast aside. This can’t be the same actor who played a mumbling introvert hiding behind a bushy beard earlier this year in The Lost City of Z. This is an actor unhinged, charging through chase sequences with so much energy that he makes Baby Driver‘s Ansel Elgort look like a guy who wouldn’t know how to get a car from the driveway to the road.

Georgia Straight (US)

Pattinson is utterly convincing as someone who, despite all his heavy lifting, we never come to care about.

Patriot Ledger (US)

Pattinson isn’t straining this time. He’s relaxed, confident and completely in control.

Sydney Morning Herald (Australia)

Robert Pattinson hits his stride as agent of chaos.

Daily Telegraph (Australia)

It’s a career-best performance from the British actor, now 31, who commits to the role on what appears to be a cellular level. You’d swear he grew up in Queens.

Metro (UK #LFF)

This is Pattinson’s film though, and he commits wholeheartedly, his cold performance leaving you further and further on edge, unable to look away from this immersive experience no matter how much you want to, as Good Time rushes along to its devastating finale.

The List (UK #LFF)

How many times does Robert Pattinson have to prove his acting chops in the wake of the Twilight juggernaut before the word ‘revelation’ ceases to apply? Following Cosmopolis, The Rover, Maps to the Stars, The Childhood of a Leader and The Lost City of Z, he exceeds expectations again in Good Time …

Channel 24 (South Africa)

Or. Perhaps. It’s the raw acting that does the trick. Bloody, hell. I never knew Robert Pattinson (as Connie Nikas) could look so unattractive. Ugly even. From his horrid hairstyle to the grime underneath his fingernails – there’s no trace of the glittering vampire that kicked off his career.

Film Polietiet (Norway)

Robert Pattinson makes the career’s best role so far in Good Time , a rough, dense and coarse-grained thriller that exploits New York’s sharp neon lights and dark back streets to a good effect.

The Fan Carpet (UK #LFF)

Robert Pattinson completely looses himself in the performance. In past films, it was quite hard to separate the actor interpreting a role from him entirely becoming his character.

Morris Movies (UK #LFF)

At the centre of it all is Pattinson, who gives the best performance by an actor I’ve seen all year … A film like Good Time doesn’t leave much room for acting yet Pattinson still delivers a full performance, adding layers to the character that aren’t visible in the film’s script. Pattinson is essentially acting in the face of a hurricane here, and he sells the character’s chaotic mentality brilliantly. There’s a constant worry on his face, a persistent exhaustion in his body language, and yet he keeps Connie going.

The Arts Desk (UK #LFF)

Pattinson is superbly ambiguous as Connie, an opportunistic sleazebag duping everyone he meets; is he genuinely protective of his brother, or just ruthlessly exploiting him?

David Stratton (Video | Australia)

” a film “laced with surprises & original ideas” … “powerfully impressive”.

Luke Buckmaster | Flicks.com (Australia)

“one of the best, most humanly and visually interesting films of the year”

SBS Movies (Australia)

Robert Pattinson hits the ground running in quality thriller.

The Australian (Australia)

Pattinson — who is in virtual­ly every scene in the film and gives a striking performance

Student Edge (Australia)

[Pattinson] gives his best, sweatiest and most unexpected performance to date in Good Time.

The Reel Bits (Australia)

For Pattinson, his post-Twilight career continues to distance himself from the mega-franchises as he once again disappears into another intense character. Constantly hustling people, even complete strangers within their own homes, he arrives on screen as a complete entity that physically transforms himself throughout the film.

Jim Schembri – 3AW (Australia)

Pattinson proving his versatility once again.

The Fourohfive (#LFF)

Pattinson firmly pushes away his former heartthrob sparkly vampire status with this film.

The Shitznit (#LFF)

Good Time will show everyone that I was right all along and that Pattinson is as versatile an actor as he is fearless.

ABC | The Final Cut (Australia)

Pattinson shines in bruising heist thriller Good Time.

The Music (Australia)

… Pattinson’s performance electric, as if matching the electronic pulse of Oneohtrix Point Never’s synthy score …

The Adelaide Review (Australia)

[Safdie Bros] are not let down by their star, who allows himself to look convincingly strung-out and act like a hot-headed idiot throughout.

Reel Good (Australia)

This is demented survival, and Connie might have seemed farfetched had Pattinson’s performance not possessed a confidence to match that of his character. (Score: 7/10)

The Reel World (Australia)

As with Cosmopolis and The Rover, Pattinson proves himself to be an actor who truly inhabits the characters he’s given.  (Score: 9/10)

First Post (Mumbai Intl FF)

Pattinson continues to surprise. … He’s no longer the plasticky British hunk; he’s a rat in the NY streets that is even loathsome at times. In fact with all that Connie does in the film, this is the most vampiric character Pattinson has ever played, and I hope he continues playing twisted scumbags in interesting low-key films like this one. (Score: 4 out of 5 stars)

Jack Attack (Letterboxd)

Between this and The Lost City of Z, Robert Pattinson has shown himself to be actually a pretty damn good actor this year.

Uncut (UK)

It is certainly a good time to be Robert Pattinson. It’s hard to think of another young actor who has moved so far – and so fast – away from the long shadow cast by his breakthrough role.

Catch News (India)

All of this is amplified perfectly by Robert Pattinson, in what is probably his best performance to date. The moral dilemmas Connie faces play out on Pattinson’s face and manifest in his body language. He goes from angry and stubborn, to resolute, hopeful, desperate, and, finally, absolutely unhinged, and he does it all extremely well. The sheer commitment and intensity with which Pattinson plays Connie actually manages to get the audience to sympathise with, if not outright worry for, Connie. (Rating: 4/5)

The Plus Ones (Australia)

Pattinson is clearly capable of portraying such an unlikeable character, especially Connie’s borderline psychopathic inability to admit wrongs or give up when he’s clearly at the end of his rope.

The Film Mafia (Australia)

Robert Pattinson – quite possibly doing the best work of his career … Pattinson, obviously the possessor of a gargantuan bank account, now works for the challenge, not the money. This role would have been a big one, and he pulls it off extremely well.

DeMorgen (Belgium)

The movie tells a chaotic one in the lives of Brother Connie (a worn Robert Pattinson, in his best role ever) …

The Blue Mountain Gazette (Australia)

Pattinson is fine in the role. It’s the role itself that seems a brick short. [Note: Liked Rob not the film]

Concrete Playground (Australia)

[T]he filmmakers are also aided by their high-profile star giving what might just be the finest performance of his career — and with a growing array of great non-Twilight turns on his resume, that’s saying something. Armed with peroxide locks, a greasy complexion and a jittery demeanour, in Good Time Pattinson wears his character’s confident, quick-thinking guise like a second skin. The charm to always get his way, the resourcefulness to constantly find a path forward, the smarts to get the best of almost everyone he encounters: thanks to this former teen heart-throb, the scheming, scamming, never-stopping Connie is magnetic, dynamic, complicated and compelling. In one of the year’s best films, Pattinson is having a very good time indeed.

Biosagenda (Netherlands)

Robert Pattinson, who plays his best role so far, consciously using his image and at the same time transcending.

Bruzz (Belgium)

Stylish highlights, revolving electronics, a chased Robert Pattinson and especially the symbiosis with New York and his shifts make the film stand out above the ground level.

Kino Critics (Germany)

[Robert Pattinson] delivers as the low life criminal; his acting ability cannot be disputed after this performance.

The ECU Film Festival (France)

Pattinson is astounding in the part – single-handedly fuelling the film’s non-stop adrenaline rush as he bursts through doors, rushes down hallways, and rounds corners with razor-sharp quickness.

Cineman (CH-D)

But ex-teen star Pattinson is so fucked up in such an unexpectedly convincing way, devious and desperate, that he wears the movie more or less single-handedly anyway.

Filmmagie (Belgium)

Pattinson is brilliant as the fool and lonely Connie, a man who is in isolation in his own head, who does not make the distinction between fantasy and reality anymore.

ExBerliner (Germany)

[T]his collaboration with plucky up-and- comers the Safdie brothers is by far [Pattinson’s] most accomplished work to date.

PureM Magazine (Ireland)

Robert Pattinson carries the film with an edgy yet focused performance as a caring but controlling brother who doesn’t seem to see the damage he causes.

Flip The Truck (Austria)

Good Time is a creative look into the dark corners of New York, living on a huge dose of energy and a great performance by Robert Pattinson. Real characters and socio-critical depth do the rest to provide a  must-see for the cinema season.

My Dirt Sheet (Indonesia)

This is really the best performance that Pattinson ever showed us.  A highly unhinged performance plus a very daring character writing produces a TRUE FILM.

PMS Red & Black (US)

Five, Robert Pattinson. That’s right, Robert Pattinson. The same Robert Pattinson of Twilight fame. He’s phenomenal in this. I completely bought him as this desperate, pathetic criminal, who for the most part is irredeemable, but who you want so much to succeed. The rest of the cast is good as well, but it’s Pattinson that holds the film together.

Konexion (Mexico)

If you still have doubts about Robert Pattinson’s quality as an actor  ,  I invite you to watch  Good Time  whenever possible … Pattinson  demonstrates again what he is made of and it is a pity that he continues thinking of him as the shining vampire of a low quality adolescent saga. Hopefully in the not too distant future, you will be given the respect you deserve.

Press Play (Austria)

Pattinson delivers his outwardly shabbiest and most illustrious performance as a cunning rogue, who acts like a bad luck charm on everyone around him.

Outcast (Italy)

Robert Pattinson, dug in the face, dirty, perfectly in part and great, is a little good, arranges it by exploiting and manipulating anyone who gets in front of him and goes out to business perhaps out of his reach.

FilmStarts (Germany)

With unkempt beard and badly dyed hair, the former teen idol completely disappears behind his role, delivering one of the most outstanding performances in the 2017 Cannes competition … (Rating: 4 out of 5 stars)

Kino-Zeit (Germany)

With Good Time, they are now delivering their most mature work to date, an amazing journey through the night, not only giving Robert Pattinson another role in a genre film, but also his best ever performance.

The Culture Whisper (UK)

Good Time will be worth watching again for Pattinson. More than any other actor, he has managed to do away with his former heart-throb status, chopping it up and throwing the pieces into the Hudson.

Trial By Films

• Acting: 10/10 – On camera nearly every frame, Good Time requires Robert Pattinson to be on his A-game; and he delivers in a role unlike anything we’ve seen from him before.

 

 

THE SOUR

Roger Ebert (#Cannes70)

Any talk of the Palme is likely muted after today’s press screening. “Good Time,” starring an intense and energetic Robert Pattinson, and Benny Safdie, is a standard crime caper/heist movie featuring the kinds of twists, bad decisions, and downbeat ending that often pass for an indie film’s fresh take on the genre.

The Upcoming (#Cannes70)

Robert Pattinson gives a gruff performance as Connie …   There’s an undoubtedly likeable energy to this mess of a picture, only it covers up an acute lack of insight and feeling. (Rating: 2 out of 5)

El Pais (Spain #Cannes70)

But there is no way. It is a story with psychological pretensions, excessively shabby characters, silly situations, capriciously filmed with exhausting close-ups, jamming music …

The Tracking Board (US)

As for Pattinson, the film puts a lot of pressure on him to deliver as its unlikeable lead, and while his New York accent is something to admire because it makes you forget he was once Edward in Twilight, his performance isn’t very impressive beyond that.

New York Times (US)

…  and other times it cloaks them in rough visual textures and jumpy, bumpy camera movements, so that a rickety genre thrill ride feels like something daring and new. It isn’t. It’s stale, empty and cold.

LA Weekly (April Wolfe | US)

Good Time, like so many other films of its ilk, revels in its ugly male characters. The Safdie brothers try to squeeze dark humor from these guys but also seem to have no awareness of how repulsive they’ve made their lead.

Arch Campbell

2 stars

Philly.com (US)

He’s Robert Pattinson, and his stature gets in the way of the story.

 

 

LOST IN TRANSLATION

BELGIUM

• Focus

CZECH REPUBLIC

• Filmnews (KVIFF52)
• 25PS

GERMANY

• Critic (I think it’s a positive review)

ITALY

• Quinlan
• Glisbandati

NETHERLANDS

• Allesoverfilm

SPAIN

• Premios Oscar
• El Mundo