WOW.
That was pretty much all I could say after the screening of Uncut Gems.
The Safdie Brothers’ Uncut Gems is the kind of movie you either love or hate — and, really, I should have hated it. It’s ugly, it’s violent, it’s misogynistic, it’s filled with non-stop profanity.
But Michael and I left the theater, after practically not having taken a breath during the entire 2 hours and 14 minute running time, and agreed we had just witnessed something so different, so immersive, it immediately shot to the top of my Best Films of the Year list.
The movie is a study in chaos. Adam Sandler shines — SHINES — as Howard, a diamond dealer in Manhattan’s diamond district. He’s kind of a low life in a high stakes world, and he’s holding on for dear life.
Howard is a gambler. He lives for the thrill of the risk, borrowing money on one end to pay his debts on the other, only to gamble away more to try to win back enough to cover his new debts. It’s a vicious cycle, with the emphasis on vicious.
Adam Sandler has starred in dramas before but you’ve never seen him like this. His performance is powerful, unsettling and Oscar-worthy. He makes you root for Howard even though to say he’s unlikeable is an understatement.
There’s so much yelling and noise in Uncut Gems, it’s often hard to sit through. Yet you can’t look away. There’s an energy that’s so palpable, you just get on the ride and hang on till the end.
It would be easy to call Howard a diamond in the rough but, um, he’s not. He is a tragic figure who can’t see his own fatal flaw. He is spiraling out of control, and through the Safdies’ brilliant direction, we feel every minute of it.
This is another movie that you should see in the theater, where you’re not distracted and where you can give yourself over to the sights and sounds, the story and the performances. It is, in its own dark way, a gem.
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