Review by Zach Dennis
Rumbling through your psyche like a bull spewing anxiety, Uncut Gems feels like the a natural progression for the Safdie Brothers’ career: an unfiltered meltdown for two hours coupled by bouts of insecurity and the glam of the underbelly.
It’s easy to seal Adam Sandler’s appearance as stunt casting, but it makes sense that the Safdies would want to tap into Sandler’s abilities, not so much as an actor, but as a presence. His character, Howard Ratner, is not really fun or attractive but has a natural charisma — this aura drawing in people to buy into whatever he’s selling, whether that’s through his merchandise, his promises or just whatever web he’s spinning.
But Uncut Gems isn’t interested in giving you that one big score that Howard is chasing over the course of the film. Despite the lengthy, near-psychedelic dip into the titular gems that are uncut, Howard never really nails down what that big score will be. It could relate to working with Kevin Garnett, who during the narrative’s time period of 2012, is in the midst of his NBA playoff run with the Boston Celtics and is currently in a series with Philadelphia. Garnett visits Howard prior to one of the game’s and comes across the newly acquired gems that have this spiritual attraction to him — he can’t keep his mind off them — so he gives Howard some collateral to keep them for luck in the night’s game.
The allure of the gems is an easy connection to Howard’s business — selling and trading jewelry and other goods in order to score something more. You keep looking for the bigger deal, as if eventually the answer or “the score” will appear.
But Howard isn’t in the clear — he has some loan sharks (including one of his relatives) on his tail, and his family is slowly breaking apart as his wife (Idina Menzel) wants nothing to do with his games anymore.
Sandler fits perfectly here, embodying someone whom you can see has the allure and interest of those around him, even if trust or stability don’t seem to be a part of anything he does. He’s constantly skimping on deals, missing deadlines, leaving people hanging, and taking great offense if any of the same acts happen to him.
Uncut Gems drags you along the way — making you another accomplice to Howard’s grifts and hustles, hoping that they won’t finally catch up to him and leave you with nothing.
It never quite allows you to take a breath while watching it, and to say that you don’t leave constantly thinking about Uncut Gems is an understatement. Compared to their last film, it lacks the flash – but there is something that churns differently in Uncut Gems rather than Good Time that feels more ancillary: that uncertainty of the score or whether or not the grift will pay off keeps you, like Howard, always wanting to seek more and more. You become one with the need to finally reach that pay-off, no matter the cost.