Uncut Gems is such a rush of a movie. It is a non-stop anxiety-driven crime thriller directed by Josh and Benny Safdie and Written by Ronald Bronstein. This movie is pretty intense, and an all-around well made film. Adam Sandler plays Howard Ratner, a jewelry dealer working out of a showroom in Manhattan’s diamond district. Adam Sandler is excellent here, in a career-best performance. We get to follow Howard around as he hustles his way through life, and how his gambling addiction keeps him going. It is all about the hustle here. Every moment of his day is about hustling and gambling, while his personal and family life is in chaos. At the same time, Howard is undergoing a separation from his wife and kids. Idina Menzel plays Howard’s wife, she has a great scene towards the middle of the movie where she snaps and goes off on Howard.
But for me, the character that stood out the most and stole the movie was Julia, Howard’s showroom employee, and girlfriend, played by newcomer Julia Fox. I feel like she was the scene-stealer of this movie. She delivers an incredible and outstanding performance. In most scenes where she is in the background with no dialogue, you still feel compelled to keep an eye on what she is doing and how her character is reacting to the scene. The screen presence and facial gestures of Eric Bogosian’s character (Arno) as he is trying to collect on Howard’s debts are remarkable. Arno is married into Howard’s family, and seems to be mixed up with Armenian mobsters. The goons working for Arno trying to collect on Howard’s debt are intense. Even Kevin Garnett is pretty good playing himself here. The overall casting of this movie was perfect.
The claustrophobic vibe of Howard’s showroom is an essential fixture of this film, and all the wheeling and dealing going on there. You get to see Howard dig himself deeper and deeper with every decision he makes. It’s a scheme on top of scheme; you feel the anxiety of every scheme because every decision Howard makes doubles down on the previous gamble and makes things worse. The Safdie Brothers seem to be on the cutting edge of cinema, and I can’t wait to see more from them in the years to come. This is a highly entertaining movie.
Four out of Five popcorn Bags. 🍿🍿🍿🍿
UNCUT GEMS (2019)
Rod Rioja 