Good Time

To his credit, Robert Pattinson has made some bold decisions in the last few years, choosing to work with outsider directors instead of cashing in on his Twilight fame. Unfortunately, even when working with the likes of David Cronenberg, James Gray and Werner Herzog, Pattinson continued to exude a low-energy indifference that felt all too reminiscent of his days as a sleepy-eyed teen idol. That all ends with Pattinson’s ferociously brilliant turn as Connie, the morally screwy criminal at the center of Josh and Benny Safdie’s outrageous New York City nightmare Good Time. After a bank robbery gone wrong lands his developmentally disabled brother Nick (co-director Benny Safdie) in jail, bottle-blonde con man Connie schemes to acquire his bail money by any means necessary. Good Time matches the do-anything relentlessness of its lead character, making for one of the most visceral and exciting movie experiences of the year. D.B.