Uncut Gems

Unless we've missed it, we live in a totally, self-absorbed, greedy, violent and condemning world. This pretty much sums up the adjectives describing "Uncut Gems". When it comes to materialism, the characters in this film range high on that list. There aren't very many films where not feeling sorry for most of the characters is evident...this film is no exception.

This is 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--Ratner has a severe gambling addiction--he must perform a precarious high-wire act, balancing business, hoping to get a precious uncut gem to the auction block, his family, especially with his estranged wife, Dinah (Idina Menzel) and Arno (Eric Bogosian), and encroaching adversaries, including Phil (Keith Williams Richards) and Nico (Tommy Kominik) on all sides, in his relentless pursuit of the ultimate win. 

Others to round out the cast are LaKeith Stanfield as Demany, Julie Fox as Julie, Howard's employee and mistress, Kevin Garnett as himself, Judd Hirsch as Gooey, Jacob Dylan Igielski as Beni Ratner, Howard's son, Anthony Mecca as Michael and Noa Fisher as Marcel Ratner, Howard's other son. 

Considering the limited feature film experience, this film was surprisingly well directed by Benny Safdie ("Go Get Some Rosemary" '09, "Buttons" (documentary) '11, "Heaven Knows What" '14, "Good Time" '17) plus tons of shorts and Josh Safdie ("The Pleasure of Being Robbed" '08, "Go Get Some Rosemary" '09, "Buttons" (documentary) '11, "Lenny Cooke" (documentary) '13, "Heaven Knows What" '14, "Good Time" '17) plus a ton of shorts as well. The staging, and especially the pacing of this film actually enhanced this film and these filmmakers knew exactly how to pace their actors so as to relay that frenetic feeling to the story at hand. Couple that with intense editing and amazing photography, and this film keeps its audience on the edge of their seats. It was equally well written by Ronald Bronstein and Benny and Josh Safdie. This could've ended up being similar to other films out there with a typical plot like we've seen before, but this was interesting in that the storyline encumbered Howard's Jewish family as Passover looms in the near future, and the retired NBA basketball player, Garnett basically plays himself still on the court. With these aspects, these writers were able to connect these aspects with the typical gratuitous violence in this, and it worked. Other that having a problem getting this film off the ground--the first 45 minutes seemed to drag a bit--the last 75 minutes severely picked up and the film simply soared. And, like I've said in past reviews when reviewing one of Sandler's comedies, he excels (acting wise) when he's in a drama film as compared to a comedy. He should really act in more dramas. 

Even though this film was a well crafted film, it wasn't made for the mass audiences. Considering the gratuitous language and violence, this is definitely for the more discrete filmgoer--it is rated R for a reason. But if you're into a well directed, written, acted and photographed film, this is the film for you.

Out of 4 Stars: 3.5                                   Rated: R                                              134mins.