
Ben and Josh Safdie direct Robert Pattinson, Taliah Webster and Buddy Duress in this crime thriller about a low level crook with one night to make bail money for his mentally challenged brother.
At its best this is a pretty intense thrill ride, at its worst it comes across as hipster showboating. Imagine a chemical burn cross between Run Lola Run and Of Mice and Men. There are things that don’t work, Benny Safdie goes “full retard” as the incarcerated brother and it feels in bad taste. But at its best this really pelts along through its real life locations at a relentless pace. Watching up close Pattison’s low level crim, as he hustles and improvises through every obstacle faced, you are impressed by his scrappy smarts. It is only when the camera drifts out to a long shot you realise he’s just another idiot who can’t exist within the law. When the Safdies open up to allow the big picture – all that ducking, diving and dodging comes across as thoughtless and suicidal. Add to that a banging electronic soundtrack by Oneohtrix Point Never that evokes Michael Mann’s urban thrillers and you have yourselves a scrambling rush of a neo-noir.
7