Uncut Gems Movie Review

Uncut Gems (2019)

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Written by: Ronald Bronstein & Josh Safdie & Benny Safdie (written by)
Directed by: Benny Safdie, Josh Safdie
Starring: Adam Sandler, Julia Fox, Idina Menzel, LaKeith Stanfield
Rated: R
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Plot
With his debts mounting and angry collectors closing in, a fast-talking New York City jeweler risks everything in hope of staying afloat and alive.

Verdict
A quick paced movie about a fast talking jeweler who keeps pushing his luck. Sandler does a good job in this, but he also gets a great character. This isn't the kind of guy you root for, but you wonder if he'll keep digging himself into a hole or somehow make it out. That question propels the movie. The addition of Kevin Garnett roots this in the real world.
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Review
Sandler got a lot of hype for his role, and he certainly does a great job though part of acclaim is that he isn't playing his typical character. In his Netflix movies, The Week Of and Sandy Wexler and more, he seems disinterested. Every few years Sandler seems to challenge himself. He was great in The Meyerowitz Stories.

Uncut Gems is intense. The activity on screen, the score, Sandler playing Howard Ratner... it's all a bit intrusive and almost annoying. It creates a mood that's agitating, and that begins to put us in Howard's head. The movie and his mind are frenetic.

Adam Sandler plays Howard Ratner.

Howard has a gambling problem and he just can't quit. He's not an adrenaline junkie, but he's addicted to pushing the line. The question quickly becomes when his lies will catch up to him, not if. From the start he's taking other people's money to place bets. We don't even get a chance to like the character. You don't root for him, but you wonder if he'll turn it around or keep getting deeper. Will his luck run out or will he keep walking the high wire? Just when you think it's going to come crashing down, he finds a way to press forward.

Kevin Garnett plays himself.

Kevin Garnett plays himself. He is persuaded to visit Howard's shop and becomes enamored with an opal. Garnett wants the opal, but Howard has other plans. It's not just that Garnett wants it, but he believes he possesses power. When he borrows it, he has a great game that night.

The busyness of the plot hides how sharp the script is. For the first half I was underwhelmed, but everything comes together at the end. Howard's failures, the loan shark, the opal, and Kevin Garnett all clash. I liked the ending.

This is one of those movies where you just know the Safdie brothers are pulling from reality. Howard seems like a caricature, but no doubt there is truth in the character.

This movie is a ride. It does get indulgent at times. One of the early scenes is a long cut of the camera going into the opal, and that shot does capture the magnificence of the opal the characters describe. Part of the fun is seeing Sandler in a movie that isn't low effort.