Good Time

The squeaky wheel gets the grease. Or in this case, the squeaky wheel messes up a bank robbery, gets his brother arrested, somehow manages to screw over everyone he encounters, and then gets life in jail. With that being said Connie Nikas is one of my favorite movie characters. His determination mixed with sheer stupidity and greed always fools me. When Connie is killing time with Crystal on her couch, he mentions that he thinks he was a dog in his past life. It seems like a point of levity in this extremely tense moment, but Connie says it with conviction. He is being completely serious. Throughout the film, he is a bit like a dog. Not the alpha wolf he thinks he is; more like the poor dog in the shelter that prompted Connie to compare himself to one. He garners sympathy and support because of his dire situation. Only to turn that against you, like a dog acting cute to get a bite of your meal. I love that last shot of Connie. A slow zoom into his face through a police car cage. He peers into the camera, showing those sad puppy eyes that worked with all the people he fucked over in this film. And it's effective. I always end up feeling bad for him somehow. He is the ultimate male manipulator.