Good Time · reception & legacy

2017 · Benny Safdie

How Good Time has been received, argued over, and remembered.

The arc

Premiered in competition at Cannes 2017 to rave reviews but only a modest box office run — since then it's snowballed into a defining film of the 2010s, the moment the Safdies broke out and Robert Pattinson's 'actually one of the best actors alive' reappraisal became consensus.

What's debated

The forever fan debate is Good Time vs Uncut Gems for best Safdie film — with a side argument about whether Connie is a magnetic antihero or a guy the film wants you to see straight through.

Its footprint

Its neon-drenched, anxiety-attack aesthetic (and Pattinson's bleach-blond dye job) became instant visual shorthand for a whole wave of scuzzy nocturnal thrillers, and Connie's line about something important happening that's 'deeply connected to my purpose' lives on in a thousand Letterboxd reviews.

Where it stands

A card-carrying Letterboxd favourite and A24-era canon climber — the 'you have to see this' entry point to the Safdie brothers.

★ Did you know? Robert Pattinson cold-emailed the Safdies after seeing just a still from Heaven Knows What, saying he had to work with them — Good Time was written with him in mind, and Oneohtrix Point Never's pulsing score went on to win the Soundtrack Award at Cannes.

Named by the director

Influences Benny Safdie has publicly named — the director's own word, distinct from the inferred lines of influence.

Straight Time (1978) — The Safdies pointed to Ulu Grosbard's Dustin Hoffman ex-con drama as a touchstone — Good Time's title is a direct riff on it.