Original author 丨 Nick Pinkerton
Compile 丨Bazinga
Produced by | One Piece Movie
Editor's Note
In December, Audiovisual magazine recommended "Good Times",
In the detailed interpretation of the magazine,
We see them behind the hot push of the Safdi Brothers' new film
A new perspective and a new outlook on the New York independent film scene.
In the film, Robert Pattinson's subversive performance received a round of praise at the film's Cannes premiere, and the fully free-flowing electronic soundtrack and dirty streets of New York at night refreshed audiences' perception of the city that gave birth to "The Wolf of Wall Street" and "Good Guys."
Can the Safdy Brothers raise a new flag in the American independent film industry? Maybe after Good Times they gave us more anticipation.
In Good Times, Robert Pattinson plays an obscure thief who runs through the streets of New York at night to rescue his unfortunate brother, a role that requires an extremely active performance state, giving the Safdy Brothers' film an extraordinary fanatical power.
"Morality doesn't go hand in hand with instinct," Joshua Safdi said quickly, talking to me on the phone about Good Times. It's a movie about "hitting or running" in the face of instinct.
Co-directed by his brother Ben Safdy, Good Times, like the work of Toby Hopper (director of "Texas Chainsaw Massacre"), is a purely adrenaline-pumping film, with the entire story taking place within 24 hours except for the closing scene.
It opens when Constantine (Robert Pattinson) suddenly breaks into his brother Nick's (Ben Safdie)'s counseling session. Nick spoke slowly, even stuttered, and was clearly mentally handicapped, but that didn't stop him from robbing the bank with his brother.
Despite this, they messed up, Nick was caught and placed in the hospital with injuries, and when Constantine managed to rescue his brother from the mess, he found that he had saved the wrong person, so he decided to work with the person he had saved the wrong person to rescue his brother. Unexpectedly, he caught himself in another chain of cause and effect until everything became more and more wrong and the whole plan collapsed again.
This failed plan makes Good Times a ridiculous and humorous "false comedy," and it's an interesting example of character research in this genre.
Three main male characters appear in the film, each depicting their different ways of collapsing under pressure. Ben Safdy and one of the screenwriters, Ronald Bloomstein, also co-edited the editing, in which he played the role of Nick.
The role of Constantine's rescuer, Rey, is played by Buddy Durres, who in real life was addicted to heroin or a prisoner on Rex Island, who made his first appearance in the Safdy Brothers' 14-year "God Knows", and is considered to be the best actor today to interpret the word "brother".
Durris and Robert Parkinson are the opposite, the kind of actors who are hard to recognize off camera.
Good Times is another New York city film, and this is very different from the film that takes place in New York, and almost every New York-related film in recent years seems to want to reflect this.
When the film's story is implemented in the geography, politics, history, and demographics of the five districts of New York, most films go as far as the Manhattan skyline they shoot. As natives of New Yorker, the Safdy brothers have a deeper interest in the shadowy side of the different cultures of the region. Joshua said, "I just always thought that local culture is more interesting than national culture, and the micro ultimate is the macro." ”
The Safdy Brothers' third feature film, like their previous works, is a detailed look at the corners of the city. "Go For Some Rosemary" focuses on Midtown in eastern New York, "God Knows" revolves around Sherman Square and Riverside Park, and their other long-simmering work, "Original Diamond," will take place in the Diamond District on 47th Street. In fact, "Good Times" laid a bigger net.
This is a film that takes place in Queens, it is built in the largest scene, the largest population density, and the most diverse city, although Queens does not have the same distinct sense of regional superiority as Manhattan or Brooklyn, but it also has a high degree of geographical recognition, and it is still an impressive place outside of New York in the eyes of ordinary people.
There is also a very important female character, Crystal (Tyril Webster), who shows a teenage girl who has overcome many obstacles and found a convincing balance between world-weariness and longing for romance.
This is Webster's first performance, and from this point, it can also be seen that the Safdy brothers like to work with non-professional actors, such as Bloomstein, who starred as their friend in "Go for Some Rosemary", and Durris and Ariel Holmes, who were discovered on the streets during the filming of "God Knows", and their own autobiographical stories also provide a lot of material for the film.
By working with these unknown performers, Joshua believes that they are "an integral part of the discovery of the role, which can be seen in appearance", but with a star like Parkinson's joining, the road is broken: "You know what role their faces can play, because they are almost stereotyped".
With such a star joining their film, it is very likely to change all the original preparations of the Safdy brothers for the film, but they responded that nothing has changed. Joshua says their approach is to "create a Parkinson's for the audience that comes from the street."
To this end, Parkinson also made a lot of preparations, he filmed a long time in advance to New York, but also immersed himself in this role in advance, wanting to enter the body of this konstantin with a criminal record.
"I think Robert himself would feel a little embarrassed," Joshua said, "because the public impression of him is still that he is a handsome vampire, and he is a little worried, so he has to overcome this problem himself."
I've always thought the best way to get into a role is to get out the door and really start being that person, not like the clichéd methodist. Therefore, the failure is not that the performance is wrong, but that people look awkward and look like it is not the same. ”
When "Good Times" was selected for the main competition in Cannes, it was not only an affirmation of the Safdi brothers, but also a support for the independent film production industry in New York since the 21st century. A key figure in the film's success was Bloomstein, whom Joshua said was like a "third brother."
The former head of the film project, Problem Roommate (2007), a comedy feature film with whom the Safdy brothers worked closely, gave the Safdi brothers a lot of inspiration and influenced their film style to some extent.
Of all the attention paid to Good Times, perhaps its greatest achievement has been its disdain and breakthrough in traditional cinematic expressions, such as the avant-garde electronic soundtrack and the opening and closing credits scenes that have been in the progress of the story.
Joshua explained that when subtitles are issued at the end, emotional scenes appear by telling the audience the end of the movie, and ultimately they want to make sure that the audience can freely enter and leave the world in the movie.
It is here that the film slowly emerges from its deep emotions — and it is here that the moral sense of being left behind by the entire film gradually rises.
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