Adam Sandler won the Independent Spirit Award for Best Actor in Uncut Gems last month and hopefully, that helped him get over that Academy Award snub. Above all else, his Spirit Award victory brings some well-deserved attention to the stunning film from the Safdie brothers, that is out now on DVD, Blu-Ray and digital download.
Sandler goes other-worldly deep for his portrayal of Howard Ratner, a New York City jeweler who runs a in-demand diamond shop in that city’s famed jewelry district. Among his clientele are famous folks and among those, he tends to have a way with athletes. One, in particular, becomes embroiled in his web and as Uncut Gems progresses, it’s breathtaking to witness how Kevin Garnett and his Boston Celtics’ playoff run through the 2012 postseason is interwoven into the jaw-dropping tension and thrills painted by directors Benny Safdie and Josh Safdie.
Even though it is an extraordinary film of the highest order (one of my top 19 of 2019), it is a difficult flick to endure. There is so much tension throughout this flick, and a majority of it is self-spawned by Howard! It is the kind of movie that will have you biting your nails (even if you don’t already do so). Yet, one cannot look away. Most cinematic experiences that are described as I have painted this one land in a pile of flicks that I like to call, “Brilliant movies that I’ll never watch again.” The thing is, Uncut Gems is a film I cannot recommend enough to purchase and have as part of your home video library. There is something unique gleaned from each viewing. It can be in terms of what Sandler brings to the part and how his contribution sets the tone and influences the overall story arc and those who have the fortune of sharing scenes with him. There are also stellar supporting cast spotlight moments that sadly become casualties to the bombastic bravado that the Safdie brothers inject into each and every frame. For example, you’ll be stinging from Howard’s latest insult to injury move and then the next scene will feature Idina Menzel, LaKeith Stanfield and even Garnett. Their own sublimely awesome follow-up adds its own layers to the richness that is this entire entity. I could honestly foresee checking out the latest from the Safdie bros a half-dozen times and still find fresh facets.
Watching Sandler lose himself in Howard is one of the great cinematic gifts of the second decade of the 2000s. Heck both decades. It is the role he was born to play. Everything in the Sandler universe has all led up to this and he needs every ounce of experience that came prior to channel this character. It is a soul that straddles a tough line that actors with multiple Oscars have had difficulty triumphing. This is a character who is not likable, but immensely appealing and engaging. Cannot even imagine how the SNL veteran even commenced his journey inside the mind of this guy. He cheats on his wife (Menzel). He is often out working or socializing, or both, at nights instead of being home with his kids. He spends money that is not his and that brings around the wrong element to his business and personal life. There’s even a scene where he must tell his wife to get the kids and leave the house immediately. Again, this is all caused by the man in the mirror and you know what? We cannot look away. As Sandler’s seismic turn grows and evolves, there is a desperation that percolates underneath that viewers can sense. The actor’s control over those minute nuances is uncanny.
Uncut Gems belongs alongside some of the more insanely suspenseful gambling movies but stands all on its own as well as a character study where the soul at the center is troubled, dangerous to those who love him and those he loves and above all else, charismatic beyond belief. It’s not that he’s handsome, this is an attractiveness of character that comes from beneath the surface. There is a blinding light to him where those around him tend to be like moths. Like many a moth has figured out, get to close to that flame and you get burned.
Menzel and Sandler are so sensational together, that after all is said and done with the flick and those credits are rolling, I felt a tad denied. Their animosity and ferocity—coupled with a clear attraction, appreciation and adoration that comes from being married for years upon years—is palpable. The Frozen actress and Wicked breakout star doesn’t sing a note here but soars sonically in many other ways. Even though Howard should fear some of the people who he owes money to (and one even abducted him!), the only reverence that Sandler’s character exhibits is towards Menzel’s Dinah Ratner. The issue, does it come too late?
Uncut Gems involves a few bets that Harold makes, but there is one that the film truly hangs on and it’s a jaw-dropper. Everything he loves, cares about and has worked for hangs in the balance over this wager. The way that the Safdie brothers’ script (co-written with Ronald Bronstein) builds and progresses, it is a seamless and sensory-elevating journey through the mind of a man who seems on the outside to be of singular means and drive. As we gloriously get to delve deeply into the mental high-wire act that is Howard, audiences are treated to one of the more complex characters to grace screens in 2019.
Garnett should look at acting as a post-NBA career move. It’s not easy to portray oneself, just as Lebron James who rocked in Trainwreck! Stanfield too is brilliant as a guy who connects athletes and celebrities with Howard and other jewelers in the area. Now, when the titular object (obtained by Sandler in the craziest of stories) becomes an item of obsession by Garnett, the retired baller must be so convincing in his fascination with the Uncut Gems, that the tsunami wave of tension and devilish drama that comes from the final two-thirds of the movie rides on that reality.
For more on the film, check out my theatrical Uncut Gems review!
After experiencing the Safdie brothers cinematic gut punch, dive into Money on the Street: The Making of Uncut Gems. The thirty-minute featurette is about as honest and to the point of a making-of extra as we’ve seen. Fitting, that is the “personality” and take-away from the film itself. It’s always key to have the featurettes that accompany a film’s home video release mirror the tone and tenor of the movie itself. That certainly is the case with Money on the Street. That’s good, because it’s the only bonus feature on Uncut Gems. That’s OK, that’s all we need. The film, and a half-hour look at how its magical mastery came to be…
Film Grade: A
Bonus Features: A-