A charismatic New York City jeweler always on the lookout for the next big score, makes a series of high-stakes bets that could lead to the windfall of a lifetime. Howard must perform a precarious high-wire act, balancing business, family, and encroaching adversaries on all sides, in his relentless pursuit of the ultimate win.
A24 does it again. The film distributor’s acquisitions team must be applauded for continuously selecting unconventional, visionary material by emerging auteurs. Since their inception at the start of the decade, they’ve experienced a meteoric rise, deservedly gaining tremendous respect for continuously taking big risks that paid off. Just to cherrypick a few examples of their oeuvre: “Spring Breakers,” “Under the Skin,” “Locke,” “Ex Machina,” “Amy,” “The Lobster,” “Room,” “Green Room,” “American Honey,” “Moonlight,” “The Florida Project,” “Lady Bird,” “Hereditary,” “Mid90s,” “Gloria Bell”… The list goes on and on. In 2019 alone, A24 released “The Souvenir,” “The Last Black Man in San Fransisco,” “The Farewell,” “The Death of Dick Long,” “The Lighthouse,” “Waves,” and “Midsommar,” among over a dozen (!) other gems. No other production company, or distributor, can compete with the sheer quality of A24’s output.
Speaking of gems, one of them happens to be quite literally uncut. In 2017, A24 took a chance — as they do — on the Safdie brothers follow-up to their visceral “Heaven Knows What,” the nervy Robert Pattinson thriller “Good Time.” It was a blast from start to finish, an unhinged look inside a desperate mind and a powerful critique of the system, all neon colors and breathless momentum. Now the brothers reunite with the formidable distributor for their most mature, assured and savagely entertaining film yet, “Uncut Gems.” It also boasts Adam Sandler’s best performance since he sparked magic with Paul Thomas Anderson 17 years ago in “Punch-Drunk Love.”
“Good Time” always felt like it balanced on the precipice of self-implosion, building the tension to an unbearable degree while barely resorting to gratuitous gore. With “Uncut Gems,” Benny and Josh Safdie, along with their co-writer Ronald Bronstein and composer Daniel Lopatin (aka electronic maestro Oneohtrix Point Never), amp up the ante even more, ratcheting up the anxiety until you can hear the screen crack. It seeps off the celluloid, into your cells — depicted vividly in trippy sequences of the camera zooming inside a gemstone, which morphs into people’s flesh, squeezing through blood molecules and veins. Aside from those sparingly-used visuals, the Safdie bros barely resort to embellishments, keeping you on the edge of that seat through the power of sheer storytelling.
Sandler embodies the character of Howard Ratner, a constantly-hustling Jewish jeweler in New York’s diamond district. He gets his hands on a valuable, uncut opal stone, which hails from the Jewish tribes of Ethiopia, allegedly dating back to the beginning of time. Howard plans to auction off the opal, and use the money to pay off his numerous — and I mean NUMEROUS — debts. He’s in pre-divorce mode with his wife Dinah (a splendid Idina Menzel), due to an infidelity involving his coworker, Julia (relative newcomer Julia Fox, impressively flexing her chops). He places high-stake bets on sports games. He works with local hustler Demany (LaKeith Stanfield, having a great 2019), who introduces him to the Celtics’ Kevin Garnett (Garnett, playing himself, rather excellently). When the basketball star lays his eyes on the opal, he asks Howard to borrow it; Howard reluctantly agrees. This leads to a series of insane left turns, breathtaking ups and downs, and unexpected gut-punches that are best left undescribed. Let’s just say that it all leads to a nail-biting game of basketball, observed on the screen by Howard, along with a few… other “members” of his crew.
From beginning to end, the film never steps wrong. You may foresee the inevitable conclusion, but you’ll have no clue how you’re going to get there, the Safdies pulling the rug from under you every second. If I had to pick a standout sequence in a film comprised of solely standout sequences, it would be the one where Howard accidentally locks Garnett out of the jewelry store at a highly crucial moment. Or maybe it’s The Weeknd’s hilarious — and oddly poignant — appearance halfway through the film. But the film adds up to even more than the sum of its parts. The filmmakers keenly observe and satirize America’s obsession with sports, and, digging deeper, the country’s inherently addictive, greedy nature. “Uncut Gems” is a cynical dissection of our collective pursuit of the next best thing. At its palpitating heart, the film is a character study of the highest degree, wherein the lead personifies the American everyman, desperate to live out that Dream. Which leads me to Sandler’s performance.
Not to resort to clichés, but it’s quite literally a “can’t take your eyes off him” performance, primarily because he’s so good, but also because he fills almost every scene in the film, and at that, almost every edge of every frame of the scene he’s in. It’s his presence: the nervy, barely-perceptible tics, the manic pursuit of a potential win, the lack of perspective; a crazed, compulsive, obsessive mind. Howard is a ticking time bomb, pursued by debt collectors, as well as personal demons — and the only way to shake them off is by building more debts, living on the line between wealth and bankruptcy — or worse. Sandler tells us everything we need to know through the mannerisms, but also in the way he wears his mismatched-but-expensive outfits, interacts with his family, his girlfriend. It’s truly an epic performance.
I won’t go too much into technical detail, allowing you to discover the masterful direction, writing, editing… No wonder Martin Scorsese is listed as the producer — one can see traces and shades of the Master’s work in the tough ride that is “Uncut Gems.” But the beautiful thing about the Safdie brothers is that they manage to make their films exquisitely their own. There’s nothing like it out there. Hopefully, the brothers’ upcoming departure from A24 into the “bigger leagues” of Paramount (they’re remaking “48 Hours”) won’t affect their authenticity. For now, fall under the spell. Just bring some tranquilizers with you.
In theaters in NY and LA Friday, December 13th
