Good Time Video Essay: A Humanistic Approach to Character Development

[@Rebrayn]

that whole concept of connie engineering his reality through these lies is so captivating to me right now. it's like a adds new meaning to the film i already love. great work

[@Enzo-si1it]

it’s also insanely realistic

[@througheverything]

When I watched it I loved how the mo ie portrays how comfortable Connie is lying. He doesn’t give a shit about anyone apart from his brother and will just lie to their face to use them.

[@tylerdark5957]

that shit with the acid and the security guard is so fucked up

[@RealGarfeeld]

Lol Fr

[@liquitosoto4287]

i’ve had a bad trip on only 100 micrograms and it was terrible, that scene makes me so uneasy

[@mooooooooooomooooooooooomo6829]

yup funny as hell with the lsd lol

[@througheverything]

His mind would surely be completely destroyed from that much

[@1337snake888]

I can't comprehend what you would even see and feel getting a whole ass mouthful of lsd

[@mycatisromeo]

I believe everything Connie does to help his brother, is part of his total refusal that his brother has a developmental disability. A key line early in the film as they are walking down the hall is, "You think you're one of them?" Or something along those lines; Is Connie's refusal that his brother needs special help. Connie never comes to terms to accept that his brother has a disability. I feel like the entire film is a symbolic of Connie's desperate attempt to take control and help his brother in his refusal to acknowledge he needs very special help. His emotional pain spills out through one bad choice after another. If Connie had spent some time learning about and accepting his brothers disability with a social worker and a psychologist, he wouldn't have utterly ruined his life in one night. Even at 7:51, the look of disgust and anger, perfectly acted, as he looks away from the guy in the hall who has a developmental disability, shows his refusal to acknowledge his brothers condition. This film is a masterpiece.

[@EdWard-ie5wn]

Narcissistic people see their loved ones not as independent people but as extensions of themselves. He can't accept his brothers disability because he can't face his own short comings

[@goclbert]

Now that you put so much focus on Connie being raised by his grandmother, I'm reminded of the fact that the teenager he takes advantage of also lives with her grandmother. He knows all that entails, he sees how she's gotten used to taking care of herself. You say Connie lacks empathy but I think he was better equipped to understand her than most people he encounters. That makes what Connie does even worse. He's had people come in and fuck up his already messed up life and he's doing the same thing. Connie and that girl are going to have the same cold view on how the world really works. I bet Connie justifies this action by thinking he taught her a lesson that everyone needs to learn.

[@silverkitty2503]

maybe ...but i don't think he thinks that deeply about what he does..he isn't operating on that high a level...

[@goclbert]

@@silverkitty2503 I don't think Connie would have to actively think deeply about that. Its a situation he is familiar with and so he just recognizes it.

[@WynnWynn-gl3fk]

He just doesn’t care about anyone else but himself.

[@lanagievski1540]

It reminded me of the Pusher trilogy. You’re not really rooting for the protagonists but you’re right there with them throughout regardless. You want them to do the right thing, but we aren’t in control of the characters.

[@quinntoohey406]

Best trilogy ever. God i love those movies!!!

[@nathanslay6342]

Connie is such a great and unique character! Robert Pattinson made this character so great to watch and he brought the character to life, too!! The whole movie is great, though. It’s such a well made film with great writing, great story, great structure, great lighting, great cinematography, and great editing! Nothing but praise for this movie!

[@Hello_I_Am_Thomas]

Top 3 funny moments, the dye packs going off, nick running through glass, ray falling off the building

[@samfarhady6131]

Why do we care about Connie? Because he’s Batman

[@neon.pinkoo]

safdie brothers have a way of putting you inside their storytelling. Nice review man

[@vanman757]

Quality film... Highly recommended, in my humble opinion....

[@deshong5047]

Incredible essay! I’m surprised you don’t have more views kid

[@hazyapricot4395]

thanks for the support!

[@Roebinv]

@@hazyapricot4395 Great insights! Make another one!

[@nicholasn.2883]

For a solid 30 minutes I thought Nick and Ray were the same character. I was so confused

[@itsrokn]

bro same

[@r3dsnow757]

while he was on the wheelchair? That's the point tho, it's a twist.

[@stevelundy2830]

Me too when he was speaking after he woke up I was like how is this dude talking so good

[@knickknackpattywack]

Same. I think we're just a lil tarded...

[@Robisquick]

He they should’ve casted the brother to look more different so there’s no confusion but it kinda added to the shock once you find out

[@superfriendlyalpaca]

Thanks for this video essay and adding clips from interviews! I didn't know about the character back stories but it's definitely apparent in the script, performance and overall feel of Connie and Nick.. the long take of Connie in the back of the car makes a lot more sense now too

[@mfpump]

I thought the parallels between the first and second act are interesting. It struck me when Connie was yelling at ray telling him he is a piece of shit and Connie is better than him, it was like a recreation of Connie speaking to Nick except there was more brutal honesty in Connie as his personal hell was slowly revealed. Great movie.

[@GranValor97]

Great essay! Just finished the movie for the first time and those backstories were really interesting

[@jodoogg]

The last line was the perfect ending 👌🏻

[@williamwright4678]

He plays a low level criminal so well. Same with the guy who plays ray

[@thawedantarctican2171]

Funny, I never cared for him. He used/hustled his disabled brother in a robbery that he never should've involved him in. Was more concerned about Nick the whole film as well as the other two characters he encountered I saw from moment one after taking off the mask that he was not a good dude, and the movie shows him to be a straight up sociopath. You also see the lies start to unravel very quickly if you pay attention to how he treats people and little details in the background. Good Time is a great film, with a great story. But other than Nick and Crystal (IIRC), every one of the supporting cast is a person you probably wouldn't want to meet or be around very long.

[@cprw10]

WOW Great essay!!! I like and Subscribed to your Channel, I love Good Time even more than Uncut Gems, I think UG it's great but Good Time it's special to me. I've read Connie's backstory before, but I never saw a KZbinr that made an essay like yours using Connie's backstory. Most people doesn't know his backstory. Your analysis was awesome👏👏🖒 You deserve more views and subscribers.

[@hazyapricot4395]

thanks for the kind comment!

[@comte.el.màgico]

Not going to lie I was laughing hysterically when Ray wakes up at the grandmothers house and it's not his brother and it's this fucking guy. Like surprise it's me...Ray the alcoholic criminal. In some random old ladies house like bugging out. Which I'd be bugging out too man. I felt bad for that dude. He got busted out of prison and nobody's going to believe he had nothing to do with it so he's now fucked. He starts drinking. Like dam what a fucked up day.

[@xavierelmasrur5407]

Incredible work

[@JackXgamer]

Amazing effort and excellent execution. Keep em going.

[@christopherforrest5713]

Amazing work!

[@slyphwing]

I prefer good time to uncut for sue

[@huberthubert87]

great video about a great movie. very insightful.

[@travisokamoto2672]

Yeah, Pattinson’s performance makes it. GOOD TIME might be funniest movie of 2017. Disguised as a gritty urban crime thriller like The Town or Paul Walker’s Running Scared meets Of Mice and Men at one point you start to think it’s like a Coen brothers film ie Raising Arizona or Fargo. After many examples Murphy’s Law and “well, it can’t get any worse” moments, you soon realize it’s a KEYSTONE COMEDY, it’s more Money Pit, Funny Farm, or Adventures in Babysitting. Loved it. Better than Gems

[@emiliobello2538]

I saw it in my film class

[@differenteyes1302]

Bravo

[@allisona941]

this is amazing thank you!!

[@sydreligious208]

i think i liked connie also bc he seemed remorseful even tho the movie moves so fast theres little moments where u can see it on his face, like when the cops r taking crystal he looks like he feels kinda bad but understands ultimately that he has to do wat he has to do i think thats 1 reason i at least was rooting for him also

[@FrenchNewWave]

Any chance you could tell me what interview clip you used with the safdie brothers explaining Connie's backstory?

[@RealGarfeeld]

Great video

[@1dopedeep]

I honestly didn't care about him. But I was hooked regardless. I cared about his brother though.

[@thelifeofjoeseph3678]

Great movie I really loved it

[@kameronbasseri1953]

Brilliant !!

[@eddyzamarripa]

Yoooo man are you still alive!?!?!? You upload such a great vid then dissappear dam lol

[@johnyboy228]

what song did you use for this video

[@BiGBOYTv]

Thank u

[@letmeknowhowthatgoes]

Wait, we were supposed to like Connie? I hated him. I knew people exactly like him growing up and they're a scourge on humanity. The movie was hard to watch because it was so disturbing but I hung in there just to watch him get F'd at the end.

[@sawyerhaming951]

You’re pretty easily disturbed then

[@EdWard-ie5wn]

Yeah I was shocked at how well Robert Pattinson played the role of a predatory scumbag.

[@kennymondesir188]

​@@sawyerhaming951meh nothing wrong with that

[@JFKHaircut]

Yo can you make anotjer video? Please? Goddammit?

[@eddyzamarripa]

Frrr like the heck happened to him he just like bailed lol he made such a great video to mann

[@NoVACorpsGaming]

Today’s Of Mice and Men

[@andrewandrew4970]

Great movie. Nerd narrator.

[@JerekBilbar]

Personally I did not care about Connie. I do think uncut greens is a better movie.

[@ghani666]

Uncut Gems…more like Underwhelming Gems amirite?? Mostly kidding, but I much prefer Good Time

[@jacobisterrible]

I just could not empathize with him at all i saw every action he did out of selfishness and hated the character from the start so maybe that damped my view on the film but i can not think of one moment in this movie i cared for the protagonist so it didnt impact me when he got caught

[@KonoGufo]

THIS

[@thedovah8102]

REAL

[@jamesc.e.s.4551]

I just can't accept that he was a bad guy, narcissistic, or lacking in empathy. He simply only cared about his brother, and wanted the both of them to escape. Every single last thing he did was for someone else, and if you've never loved a younger/dumber sibling with all your heart, and wanted a better life for them, then I think this movie becomes harder to truly understand. If you have, then you realize that Connie's actions didn't come from a place of narcissism, even if they were ultimately wrong.

[@EdWard-ie5wn]

I don't see him as an "evil" character per say. I just see him as someone who's been molded by his environment to be kind of a predatory scumbag stuck in survival mode. The part after they get the money was really endearing I think

[@KonoGufo]

Who the fuck is "we" lol, I hated Connie the entire way through. Shoulda been him that died instead of Ray.

[@sneakyturtle9870]

too much therapyspeak, there is more to analysis than that