Good Time

British actor Robert Pattinson (Twilight) stars as a small-time criminal determined to break his mentally-challenged younger brother out of custody in this gruesome, violent crime drama from street-savvy, New York guerilla-filmmaking siblings Josh and Benny Safdie. The brothers are outspoken advocates of cinema vérité, which here translates into shaky handheld camerawork, natural lighting, and unlikable, distressed characters mumbling insignificant dialogue while wallowing in depravity. The pulpy, rambling story begins as Constantine “Connie” Nikas (Pattison) rescues his troubled brother Nicky (co-director Benny Safdie) from a psychiatric evaluation concerning an incident involving their abusive grandmother. Connie wants Nicky at his side during a bank robbery, which goes wrong when a dye-pack explodes as they make their getaway, dousing them both in red. Connie flees, but panicked Nicky is arrested. Dwelling in a squalid, shadowy underground culture of drugs and thugs, scumbag Connie manipulates his girlfriend (Jennifer Jason Leigh) to max out her mother's credit cards for Nicky's bail, but a brawl with another inmate at Rikers Island sends Nicky into a hospital. Ultimately, these misfits will end up hiding out in a dingy, deserted Adventureland theme park. A far-fetched tale presented with lots of in-your-face unpleasantness, this is an optional purchase. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include audio commentary with directors Benny and Josh Safdie, producer Sebastian Bear-McClard, and costars Robert Pattinson, Taliah Webster, and Buddy Duress, the behind-the-scenes featurette “The Pure and the Damned” (18 min.), and the music video “The Pure and the Damned” by Oneohtrix Point Never featuring Iggy Pop. Exclusive to the Blu-ray release is a bonus UltraViolet copy of the film. Bottom line: a solid extras package for an ugly film that split critics.] (S. Granger)