Adam Sandler has been many things to many people. With his stunning turn in the Safdie brothers’ Uncut Gems, award winning actor is something nobody thought would be a descriptor to contextualize his thespian skills. Alas, that is exactly where we are as I can merely try to put into words the seismic Sandler moment he has earned with his portrayal of Howard Ratner.
Ratner is a Jewish jewel broker in New York City’s Diamond District with a diverse clientele that has kept him in business, despite his penchant for making outlandish bets. Those wagers have hindered his ability to be supremely successful. Don’t get me wrong, he still is quite lucrative, what with a huge house in Westchester and a swanky apartment in The City that he drives back and forth to in his sweet Mercedes.
As Uncut Gems commences, Sandler is in the middle of working a couple of angles on a deal that could set him up for life. He has worked his connections to score a rock … an enormous rock that is the titular rare opal from a mine in Africa. Ratner has pulled some strings and the beauty is set to be auctioned off in the coming days. Thing is, those next 72 hours will be so frenetic, he will be lucky if he emerges with his family intact, his marriage still strong and most importantly—his health. There are some viciously angry folks who want Ratner for a multitude of reasons, and as he averts them through various means, the screws around his life are tightening. What’s a guy to do to help him make it out of this mess alive and perhaps wealthy? Wouldn’t you know it, he places some insane bets on Kevin Garnett and the Boston Celtics with their playoff battle with the Philadelphia 76ers.
The Safdie brothers have crafted a cinematic experience that should come with a warning about its affect on one’s heart. There are tensely put together flicks that raise the pulse and perhaps even produce a bit of sweat on the brow from the viewer. Then, there’s Uncut Gems. With this film, we are so deeply invested in Ratner’s life, struggles, successes and failures, that we almost have a physiological response to each successive situation that only amplifies our jeweler’s jeopardy. Between the script (penned by the brothers and Ronald Bronstein), the direction and production design and Sandler’s performance that is absolutely one of the year’s best and maybe even could find itself on a best of the decade list, the Howard Ratner journey is one that will never be forgotten by anyone.
Any gambler that gets over their head, there is an element of frustration that accompanies witnessing that way of life on the silver screen. Uncut Gems is no different in that capacity, but what makes it riveting and resonant lies in the characterization by Sandler that commands our sympathy almost immediately. He’s not a good husband. He’s a mentally distracted father. As a businessman, he makes decisions that could easily have any other person looking at vocational disasters around every turn. Yet there is something utterly magical about Ratner, as Sandler embodies him, that we pull for this cat. We want this guy to win—whatever that means and form that would even take. Yet, just when he seems to have one foot out the door and in safety, he turns around, busts down the door, reenters the room of awfulness and ups the ante—firmly believing that he has just found the one in a million payoff that will solve all his problems.
The thing is, wouldn’t you know it—but if things do go well for Ratner, that is exactly what could occur. I’m being vague here, but spoilers, people! Trust me when I say that this is one of those flicks that could be seen with hands covering your eyes because the tension is so rich it’s almost like you cannot watch Yet, at the same time, and this speaks to the magic of Sandler and the filmmaking siblings, we can’t look away. In fact, when the film’s credits start rolling, there is an ambiance of regret that the tour de force is over. That’s amazing because one could easily qualify for a PTSD diagnosis if you lived through what Ratner does onscreen.
Idina Menzel took a chance herself by tackling the role of Ratner’s wife, Dinah. She’s a Jewish-American Princess, raising his kids and doing her best to keep a home that her children could grow up proudly. With Howard as a father and “man of the house,” Dinah’s job is challenging on a good day and next-to-impossible on a bad one. The Frozen star seamlessly fit into the part and one can see why she is still with Howard (the lifestyle and the children), but one of the casualties of these fateful days could be the sanctity of bliss that is the Ratner family.
An integral piece to this puzzle even working lies in the hands of a non-actor, future Hall of Fame basketballer Kevin Garnett. He winds up in Ratner’s diamond store, thanks to his pal Demany (LaKeith Stanfield of Get Out fame). It is there and at that moment that everyone’s fate collides, and it will take the entire two hours of the film to determine whose fate will forever be altered. Speaking to their uncanny ability to mine pitch perfect performances from their ensembles, the Safdie bros achieve greatness with Garnett, not in spite of him. How he fits into this story will remain a mystery until you see it, again—not spoilers here! But I can say that Garnett is still playing ball when this story takes place and that his love of diamond jewelry and other “nice” things that finds the NBA champion feeling like he cannot continue to compete at a high level without something that Ratner possesses. Believing that he has a line on Garnett and how he’ll perform, Ratner makes some questionable decisions, business-wise, and places enormous amounts of money on some prop bets that even have bookmakers wondering what he knows.
The Safdie brothers are the most fascinating of filmmakers. Their 2017 effort, Good Time, was nearly as gritty as Uncut Gems, and achieved an acting miracle from its lead as well, Robert Pattinson. They have a habit of making a connection with their cast that brings out not necessarily their best, it’s more about eliciting a performance from their cast members that elevate their material. That marriage of subject matter and stars doesn’t always click. Yet with Benny and Josh, they take risks on casting and the payoff—like a longshot bet of Ratner’s—is enormous. Pattinson found himself up for the role of Batman, something prior to Good Time, might have seemed like a longshot given that he was widely known for Twilight…something he was more than happy to leave behind with his busting expectations performance in Safdie’s flick. The same thing can be said about Sandler with Uncut Gems. He was a laughingstock over at Sony (during that fateful supposed North Korean hack), with the studio looking to unload his contract through any means necessary.
Now, it is very likely that the name “Sandler” could be uttered as a Best Actor nominee by the Academy.
In fact, I would bet on it.
Grade: A