Uncut Gems (2019)

Josh and Benny Safdie. If you don't know their names already, you better start knowing them now. Their catalogue of films at this moment seem on paper to be typical of arthouse cinema, but are so kinetic, intense, gritty, rugged and down-to-earth that they transcend into pure crowd pleasing theater-going experiences. When people talk about their films, they get excited. If the rest of them are anything like Uncut Gems, they should be. 2019 has arguably been the best year for movies in more than a decade and I have a lot of favorites to choose from, but when I look back, Uncut Gems will stick straight out in my mind at the very top of my list. I knew as I left that this was an experience I'd never forget. A 2-hour coke-fueled, heart attack of a motion picture that leaves you horrified, confused and thrilled. Uncut Gems, simply put, is a street masterpiece. 

Adam Sandler is Howard Ratner. A New York City diamond merchant, and a putrid degenerate gambler. Immediately as we're introduced to him, he makes you incredibly uncomfortable. He's a man devoured by the prospect of winning big money. He's compromised his entire family life for sports betting and hookers. He's up to his eyeballs in debt, constantly being chased around by scumbag loan-sharks. He speaks a million miles per minute, preening in fake confidence, yet his facial expressions throughout scream of "kill me now". But Howard's luck makes a major turn around, so we think, when he receives a special delivery from Ethiopia. That being, a large, sparkling uncut opal worth no less than a million dollars. Howard has hit the jackpot. It just so happens that on the same day, NBA Superstar Kevin Garnett stops by the store to buy some rocks for the big game. Kevin sets his eye on the opal, and much to Howards chegrin, he wants to borrow it for good luck. Howard agrees, so long as Kevin allows him to borrow his championship ring in return. An exchange is made, and instead of leaving it alone from there, Howard pawns off the championship ring in order to pay the loan sharks his gambling debts. 

From there on out, it's a cluster bomb of chaos. Howard's degeneracy is on full display and seems never ending. You sit back in your chair and watch a man dig himself into a hole. Just when you think he's hit bottom, he continues digging himself even deeper. Howard keeps narrowly escaping bankruptcy and certain death, only to make another stupid bet, which ultimately screws him up even more than before. What's fascinating is how some people who've seen this film feel bad for Howard, as if he's just sick. God help me, I couldn't. He's an unlikeable moron and a terrible person. Does that make the film unwatchable? Hell no. The exact opposite. This is a descent into a morbid abyss that is exhilarating. I can sleep like a baby after having watched this. Whatever daily stress you have in your life, you can be sure it can't be as bad as a day in the life of Howard Ratner. Call it schadenfreude if you want. I call it a damn good movie. 

The direction at the hands of the Safdie Bros. is the key component of what makes Uncut Gems such an incredible watch. It has the nerve smashing intensity of Grand Theft Auto and the kinetic energy of a music video, with few winks to the cinematic structure and themes of 70's classics like Mean Streets and The Gambler. It all engrosses the audience into their world, as nasty as it can get, and boy is it nasty here. Not to mention, incredibly stressful. Think of Requiem for a Dream, and how it felt the first time you watched it. Uncut Gems has that same magic. The second component, not be forgotten, is Adam Sandler. Could it be his best role to date? Not sure, but I'm afraid Barry Egan has some serious competition. Once again, when Sandler takes a break from dumb-guy humor and hunkers down with a good script and a great character to explore, he is truly one of the finest actors out there. He's simply unstoppable as Howard. You can't keep your eyes off of him. You could certainly credit his comedic chops as to how well Sandler can play a psychopath. Be careful how badly you try running him down. Please, don't underestimate him. 5 STARS.