Uncut Gems - Review Thread

It's always exciting when you discover new filmmakers brimming with exceptional talent and a unique perspective on how cinema is evolving like I felt when I viewed the film Good Time by brothers Ben and Joshua Safdie. Good Time was a rollercoaster thriller that mirrored their youth but was structured so sharply that you could've sworn these two were far older than they are. Though they're very young for directors of their stature, the Safdies have been making films for a very long time, outputting short after short after short detailing the lives of various New Yorkers in quirky situations and breathing insightful examinations on people who wouldn't normally fall under the obvious as being ideal film subjects. They are incredibly gifted writers and directors, and then just to top it all off edit, score, and act in their films as well. It's a stunning feat that shows how in tune the brothers are with every aspect of their craft, and despite the constant chaos unfolding in their films one never feels like they aren't in the safe hands of some of the best in the business. It's controlled chaos at its finest and most intoxicatingly exciting, and I'm very pleased to say that the Safdies have taken all of the best elements of Good Time and have improved on them to make their first truly great feature in their latest, Uncut Gems. Robert Pattinson is certainly an indie darling now, seemingly starring in only A24 films now and having done two of them in 2019 alone with High Life and The Lighthouse, but when he was cast in Good Time it raised eyebrows for sure. He was trying to shake the image of Twilight, and I'm sure he would agree that thanks to the Safdie's directing him to his superb performance in Good Time he finally succeeded in doing so. Raising even more eyebrows here is casting Adam Sandler, perennial bad movie star, in the lead in what is the finest performance of his career and one that could and should, seriously, net him substantial Oscar consideration. Uncut Gems is a special film, one that solidifies the Safdies as among the best feature directors out there and also a tour-de-force performance from an actor who no one, including myself, believed he was capable of. Uncut Gems is the most fun I had at the theater in 2019, and is one of the best minimalist thrillers ever made. It's that great.

Set in New York's Diamond District, Sandler plays Howard Ratner, a jeweler specializing in high-end and unique pieces and catering towards a wealthy clientele. Howard's life is one of the most chaotic I've ever seen in a film, largely due to his own inability to stop pursuing a bigger score, or hit as he puts it, and live on the edge of luxury and ruin. He's constantly being hounded by his creditors, most importantly hired thugs looking to get the money back that Howard owes his own brother-in-law, Arno (Eric Bogosian). He places bets, he gambles with other people's money in order to pay back other people, and his mouth never seems to stop moving. Howard revels in the thrill of winning and losing, and Sandler is mesmerizingly good in the role as he juggles several problematic scenarios at once. Things get even more complicated after he shows a rare opal that he obtained from Africa to NBA superstar Kevin Garnett, who brilliantly plays himself here. Garnett wants the opal, believing it'll help his game, and in exchange leaves Howard his championship ring, which of course Howard immediately pawns for a sum of cash to pay off Arno. As expected, things continue to go from really bad to even worse, mostly due to Howard's inability (or rather lack of desire) to call it quits. Complicating matters more is that his wife Dinah (Idina Menzel) wants a divorce and Howard's mistress, Julia (Julia Fox), isn't helping his immense amount of anxiety and paranoia.

Uncut Gems works as one whirlwind after another that Howard has to get out of, and yet the film never for even an instance borders on repetition or tedium. The Safdies are perhaps the best directors today at crafting genuine suspense and maintaining that tone for, not a few scenes, but the entirety of the film. Even more incredible is that while Good Time was inherently suspenseful due to its subject matter revolving around a robbery gone wrong, Uncut Gems is a more minimalist approach that Robert Bresson would be proud of. Most of the film takes place within a few Manhattan city blocks or in Howard's jewelry store, and the Safdies keep characters flying in and out of these settings like they're literally pushing actors onto the set at full speed. They have such an amazing physicality to their work, framing the action in long takes that are expertly blocked and hitting all of the right focus changes, perspective shifts, and tracking that is thrilling to watch unfold. It's fascinating to view all of this absurdity developing in each scene while always feeling like the film is in total control. The Safdies hit all of their music cues, cut on exactly the right beat, and pit actors against each other in ways that are both humorous and terrifying all at the same time. The film has so many twists and turns that I won't dare spoil here, all leading up to an ending that will have your jaw on the floor and suck the air out of the entire audience. I couldn't take my eyes off the screen, my mind never wandered, and I was entranced by the scenarios on the screen in a way that only the great films can successfully do.

Adam Sandler gets a lot of heat for his movies, and this is mostly well deserved. I think most people actually like Adam Sandler but are disgruntled at his seeming lack of heart in selecting his roles. Movies like Grown Ups and the slew of Netflix films he's recently done just come off as lazy and uninspired, and I myself have certainly been a detractor of Sandler and these movies. One of the only other "adult" films he's done is Paul Thomas Anderson's Punch-Drunk Love, which is perhaps the only showcase of Sandler as an actor and not a buffoon. While I'm certainly a fan of that film and of Sandler's performance in it, there's no doubt that his work in Uncut Gems is far and away his best and I'd even go so far to say could entirely alter the public's perception of him after seeing it. Now, this good faith could completely go to waste if his next film is his typical, nonchalant affairs that we've grown tired of, but Sandler's work here isn't just a great performance by his own measure, but one of the best performances of the decade on any level. It just goes to show that any actor can realize their own abilities and potential when working with the right director, and for all of my gushing over the technical abilities the Safdies display with their camerawork and editing, I don't think it's hyperbole to tout them as among the best performance directors as well. If a few years ago I would have told you that Robert Pattinson and Adam Sandler would have delivered some of the strongest performances in the most thrilling movies in each of their respective years you would have scoffed, and rightfully so. But there's something that the Safdies have tapped into in both Good Time and Uncut Gems that's truly special. Uncut Gems is one of the few great films of 2019, and more importantly has signaled that the Safdies might be the most important filmmakers to watch in the next decade.

9/10