Uncut Gems Review
From acclaimed filmmakers Josh and Benny Safdie comes an electrifying crime thriller about Howard Ratner (Adam Sandler), a charismatic New York City jeweler always on the lookout for the next big score. When he makes a series of high-stakes bets that could lead to the windfall of a lifetime, Howard must perform a precarious high-wire act, balancing business, family, and encroaching adversaries on all sides, in his relentless pursuit of the ultimate win.
R: Pervasive strong language, violence, some sexual content and brief drug use.
Runtime: 2 Hours and 10 Minutes
Studios: A24, Elara Pictures, IAC Films
Directors: The Safdie brothers | Writers: The Safdie brothers, Ronald Bronstein
Cast: Adam Sandler, Lakeith Stanfield, Idina Menzel, Judd Hirsch, Eric Bogosian, The Weeknd
Release Date: December 13, 2019
The Safdie Brothers have a knack for setting character-driven stories on the world’s scummiest of scumbags. Their previous feature was Good Time, a thrilling caper that focused on a criminal con man who ran around NYC to free his brother from jail in the span of one long night. Despite Robert Pattinson’s unexpectedly charismatic performance fueling the picture, I wasn’t the biggest fan of the film as a whole. Now, the brothers are back with Uncut Gems, a new thriller with a new scumbag of a lead. His name is Howard Ratner and he just might be the most annoyingly fascinating character in cinema. Also, he’s brought to life by an award-worthy portrayal by one *checks notes* ADAM SANDLER?!
Sandler portrays a Jewish jewelry store owner named Howard Ratner, an annoying, abrasive, self-centered con man who has an addiction to gambling and making wrong decisions over and over again. He’s been somewhat successful in the sense that he’s able to afford both a house for his wife and kids in Long Island and an apartment complex in Manhattan for his loyal girlfriend, Jules. He would’ve been living far more comfortably if it wasn’t for the fact that he—in the words of Lunchmoney Lewis—got BILLS he’s gotta pay. Immediately, you’re thrusted into Howard’s hectic lifestyle: running his shop, selling fake jewels, running cons, being unfaithful to his family, owing thousands of dollars to multiple mobs, relentlessly lying and consciously digging himself into a deeper hole of problems. He got 99 problems and he keeps making more. It’s as if his conscience is on break 24/7 365. It’s as if his shoulder angel died and he’s functioning solely with the help of his shoulder demon at 100%. But once the Boston Celtics player Kevin Garnett (oh yeah, this is set in the year 2012) comes into his shop and stumbles upon Ratner’s latest acquisition, an Ethopian Opal which somehow gives Garnett magic powers, Howard seizes the opportunity to score big with both the NBA player and his debt collectors. Unfortunately, his own ego and incompetence get in the way.
Do the Safdie Brothers have a list of actors whose filmographies are the bottom of the tank and just scoop them up to transform them so they can deliver award-worthy performances? It’s so damn bizarre. They did it with Robert Pattinson and now they’ve done it with Adam Sandler, whose performance is the major carrier of this thrilling, anxiety-inducing fever dream of a film. Even while I type this, I’m still in both awe and utter disbelief over the fact that the Safdie Brothers (and their writing partner Ronald Bronstein) wrote a role for Adam Sandler and he went and delivered one of his best—and most unrecognizable—performances since Punch Drunk Love. Yeah, I know of Noah Baumbach’s The Meyerowitz Stories and I assume it’s great, but for me, THIS SHIT IS IT. This is Sandler at his best in his career. This is his top-tier Sandler. While laying it on thick with a Jewish accent and donning fancy branded clothing, Sandler washes himself away with this role and gives it his all through constant ramblings, bursts of temper, and annoying persistence, all depicting toxic privilege, greed, and the entitlement that the upper class expresses. He’s the most delusional loser in history—the amalgamation of all negative things starting with the prefixes un- and self-. He doesn't give a fuck if you're Kevin Garnett or The Weeknd, Howard will fuck you over and, like Limp Bizkit, he will have it his way or the highway.
Besides Sandler’s character-driven performance, the main beauty of the film comes from the Safdies’ ability to keep you from sympathizing with this terrible person. The camera sets itself primarily on Ratner as you see how he navigates through the world, and while he might be one of the most annoying characters of all time, you see how the world doesn’t abide by his rules and the various scenarios he puts himself in. Ratner doesn't care about the status of others; he only cares to benefit himself. He’s a desperate loser and you never feel empathy towards him, but instead you’re entertained by him. He may be this chaotic and manic person, but what elevates the frenetic pace of the movie are the people who inhabit his world. As you watch the slow burn of all of his many open debts come back to bite him in the ass, you also witness the heartbreak of the people that have been screwed over by him. Instead of making you feel sorry for Ratner, you feel sorry for everyone who has to deal with Ratner. This might be the first movie I’ve seen where I actually sympathized with the mob. Hell, every time he deservingly got decked in the face, I went:
There is a gut-punching moment with Idina Menzel (who plays Ratner’s wife) where she just straight up tells him what the audience wants to hear and God, does it deliver a cathartic chill.
The film is a straightforward thrill ride where you're following this manic mess of a character whose life is full of many open tabs that he can't ever seem to close. He is so blinded by his own self-interest that it makes him unable to comprehend any sort of consequence. The best way to describe Uncut Gems is: it’s like watching someone play a “choose your own adventure” game and that player keeps making the wrong decisions, pressing the wrong buttons, and you’re just at the edge of your seat, stressed the fuck out wondering when and where everything is going to blow up in his face. All in all, it's a beautiful fable about the unbroken human spirit… in its own twisted sort of way.
Another veteran player from Good Time who returns is composer Oneohtrix Point Never, whose electronic synths never get old—they only get better and better. The original tracks he provides here are more hypnotically psychedelic than ever, which brilliantly blare to deliver the narrow mindset of Howard and his world. It’s often mesmerizing to hear and honestly, I CANNOT WAIT FOR THE SOUNDTRACK TO DROP! I need it. I need it in my ear drums. NOW!
God, I can go on and on about how Sandler dominates each scene in this movie and how this is a perfect showcase of his talent, ensuring his consideration as one of the best actors of the year. From the unrecognizable persona he puts on to the way his ad libs still stay true to the character… everything pisses me off. It pisses me off that, with every four terrible Adam Sandler movies, he delivers one fantastic performance. Hell, it baffles me that lately, Sandler has proven he’s talented. It’s just Happy Madison that holds him back. With the exception of his latest Netflix comedy special 100% Fresh, which is actually pretty good, every Happy Madison production that he starred in has been… how do I say this lightly? Goddamn abysmal. But then he’ll do something like The Meyerowitz Stories or Uncut Gems to remind the world that, oh yeah, he’s a fantastic performer. Or maybe he’ll sing alongside Miley Cyrus on Fallon, do his own special, or host SNL to prove that he’s still a talented singer and a really funny comedian. That’s why I propose—hear me out—that Adam Sandler shuts Happy Madison down. That brand has been holding him back for so long that it’s blinded everyone from being able to see just how incredible he is. This film is major evidence that he still got more tricks up his sleeve. I want him to pursue more projects that are out of his comfort zone, for they always bring out the best of his talent. Close Happy Madison. Let it die. Do your own thing, Sandler. We would all rather be amazed by you!
Uncut Gems is an exhilarating, anxiety-inducting thrill ride bound to stress you out and inject you with a good time. It’s driven by a game-changing performance from Adam Sandler and proves that the Safdie Brothers are the real fucking deal.
