Uncut Gems

Rating: R
Runtime: 2 hours, 15 minutes
Directors: Benny and Josh Safdie

Quick Impressions:
I left this film feeling lucky to escape with my life. Head exploding, heart racing, kidneys falsely reporting assault with a bag of bricks, I needed a minute to catch my breath and reflect on what I had just experienced. Maybe I’m over-dramatizing my reaction a little, but (seriously, no exaggeration) my head and back continued to ache for two hours after I got home from this film. I’ve had films give me tension headaches before, but never a tension backache. That’s a first. (Maybe you think I’m kidding about the backache, but I’m not.)

Uncut Gems is intense. If you’ve seen Ford v Ferrari, then you’ll remember the heightened tension of that exciting, suspenseful Daytona race. My heart-thudded out of my chest while I watched that scene. Uncut Gems is like that for the entire movie. Maybe I’m being excessively cautious here, but I think if I had a family history of heart attacks, I would steer clear of this movie, just in case.

Uncut Gems is an unrelenting, unflinching, loud, frenetic exploration of what gambling addiction looks like in action. It’s more than that, though. Adam Sandler’s Howard Ratner definitely exhibits a more blatant gambling problem than even Marge Simpson, but he’s still a complex character and this is more (and less) than a cautionary tale.

I can certainly see why Sandler’s performance and the Safdies’ writing and direction have been racking up widespread critical acclaim. I’ll be stunned if the Academy makes room to honor this film, though I would be excited to see Sandler sneak into the Best Actor line-up (at whose expense I cannot imagine). I don’t see that happening, but unfortunately, I probably will have to make room for Uncut Gems in my own personal Top Ten list (which I may do by transforming it into a Top Twelve list. You have no idea the time and agony I have spent deciding which films of 2019 I like the very best, and I haven’t seen 1917 yet, either!).

The Good:
My first thoughts as the movie opened were, “Why does this score sound like it was written by 1980s space wizards?” Maybe that’s the wrong way to put it, but the music does seem ripped from a trippy 80s fantasy movie, lots of synthesizer and chords Gwildor might play on the cosmic key. I can’t not comment on that. It made such an impression. Plus, the opening credits look like a revamped version of the old Disneyland attraction Adventure Thru Inner Space, only instead of going inside a snowflake, we journey through a sparkling black opal.

Then the film turns into a gritty, suspenseful, slice-of-life, New York City crime drama intensity fest not unlike a character study by Martin Scorsese (who, in fact, is an executive producer).

But though that trippy opening initially seems jarringly incongruous, we gradually come to realize there is an almost mystical undercurrent running through the film. Howard isn’t just a gambler. He’s a dreamer, a visionary. I don’t think it’s just more b.s. when he starts comparing his work to Kevin Garnett’s basketball playing. The two characters really are, to a degree, like-minded (or like-souled, or something). They are the only two who really get what that opal means, actually the only two who even acknowledge that it does mean something.

I don’t think it’s a spoiler (or over-reaching) to say that one of the uncut gems to which the title refers is surely Howard himself. I keep thinking of a neat turn of phrase from The Duchess of Malfi, “Whether we fall by ambition blood or lust, like diamonds, we are cut with our own dust.”

So there is definitely a philosophical bent to this movie which could also be taken as mystical, even spiritual. Howard’s Jewish faith and identity clearly hold a central place in his (otherwise chaotic) life, and any movie that begins with the excavation of a rare gem from an obscure, dusty site in Ethiopia clearly intends to offer us layers and invites us to dig deeper, past the surface.

After the first couple of minutes of excavation and mystical music, we just dive right in to Howard’s busy, hectic, stress-inducing life. And that’s what the movie is, a few days in the chaotic life of this manic jeweler, who experiences a reversal of fortune every ten seconds, is always in the middle of making a risky deal or bet, and constantly comes up with new schemes to fit his ever changing circumstances. Howard’s got a lot going on. All over town guys are chasing him wanting their money. Some are far more menacing than others. He’s got all these balls in the air–medical test results, his daughter’s school play, a big auction, a pawn shop deadline, Passover with the family, his wife (for now), his dubiously loyal mistress, these guys who keep attacking him. There’s so much happening this week, but we quickly see that for Howard, there’s always something happening. For him, this may even be a typical week (though I think the drama set in motion by the opal kicks it up a notch).

Sandler is fantastic in this role, and the supporting cast is terrific, too. I really love LaKeith Stanfield, so I was happy to see him, though I found his character occasionally enigmatic. Former NBA star Kevin Garnett is surprisingly good playing a fictional version of himself. Star athletes do not always transition smoothly into movie stars, but I would be happy to see Garnett play someone besides himself in other movies. He’s very good here. Also a joy to watch is Idina Menzel (aka Adele Dazeem) as the wife who is fed up with Howard’s lifestyle choices. She is one of the few characters in Howard’s life whose behavior is consistent and easy to read. Otherwise, his life is like a big poker game, and everyone is always bluffing. His girlfriend (played by Julia Fox) is often hard to figure out. How does she truly feel about him? I was puzzled about the degree of her attachment for most of the movie, but I liked Fox’s performance, and by the end, I was rooting for her character, too. Eric Bogosian brings a layer of somewhat sympathetic mystery to Arno, a character who relentlessly hounds Howard, determined to get his money back. Judd Hirsch is a welcome presence as Howard’s father-in-law. Tilda Swinton and Natasha Lyonne have small roles (or large cameos) as voices on the phone. The Weekend appears as himself, as do a number of others with varying degrees of fame. (There’s an absolutely delightful cameo by John Amos!)

The supporting cast is excellent, but almost all of the time, we’re with Sandler who deserves an Oscar nomination that I doubt he’ll get. Daniel Lopatin’s score is memorable, too, and I wish the Safdies could get some Oscar love for the screenplay they wrote with Ronald Bronstein. The story seems like a Scorsese-esque character study crossed with a riff on John Steinbeck’s The Pearl. It’s also a brilliant dive into the adrenaline-filled perspective of a gambling addict. (As I watched, I was initially unsure that Howard was a gambling addict. The movie is set up to show us what he feels will be a big score, a financial triumph, and obviously he’s had to borrow money to get the thing that will set this all in motion. But his behavior near the end seems a pretty clear mark of gambling addiction. You could argue, I suppose, that instead he is inspired with a solution to his problem. But I get the feeling he gets inspiration like this quite a lot. His wife’s reaction to his intense game-watching is a big hint.)

Best Scene:

In the final act of the film, the tension kicks up to an eleven, and this tension is sustained until the end of the movie. (I’d call it a good thirty minutes of painful, non-stop suspense.) This is incredible filmmaking and tells me that if the Safdies continue making movies, I will eventually see them at the Oscars.

I absolutely love the conversation Sandler’s Howard has with Kevin Garnett in his office as they make a deal near the end of the film. The whole movie has been tense, but this scene begins the even more intense finale. Garnett, known as a basketball player, is better in this scene than many people known as actors. And Sandler is next level. This is the scene that convinced me that room must be found for him in Best Actor this year. It won’t happen, but wow, he deserves it.

Best Scene Visually:

When Dinah discovers where her husband has disappeared to during their daughter’s play, we get a very strong idea of how she sees her marriage at this point. I love how Howard remains calm through the entire sequence at the school when his two worlds uncomfortably collide. He makes a point to tell his daughter that he’s proud of her. In this portion of the story, as always, he constantly reevaluates his position and changes his strategy accordingly. But at the end all of the flight and pursuit, Howard is forced to stop, and Dinah gets a good look at his actual situation.

Best Action Sequence:

I love Howard watching the last big game, and I also love the way his audience watches him. Julia Fox also gets some riveting moments, intercut with all of this Sandler stuff.

Most Oscar Worthy Moment, Adam Sandler:

Sandler’s strongest moment is either his final lines in the film or the conversation with Kevin Garnett that I already mentioned. But his Oscar clip is definitely the moment when he breaks down in his office. Howard is usually unrealistically optimistic and always has a plan, but here, his poker face crumbles, and we get a moving look at a broken man.

Just a moment later, incidentally, comes the funniest line in the movie (to me) when Howard laments a choice a character has made. I actually giggled out loud, and then no one else in the theater made a sound, embarrassing for me. But I do think the line is funny, and my reaction shows the benefit of casting an actor good at delivering comedic material. (I don’t know what was wrong with the rest of the audience. I maintain that his reaction was (intentionally) funny. (I think even the character intends it to be kind of funny.)

The Negatives:

If your own family holiday gatherings leave you reaching for prescription medication (for anxiety, a heart condition, to poison your relatives, whatever) then you might want to think twice about seeing this film. I have no idea how Howard lives like this on a day-to-day basis. Five minutes of tension at this level makes a movie exciting. Two hours of the same tension sustained starts to cause physical strain on the audience. Rise of Skywalker warns the audience that you could get a seizure while watching. Here’s my warning. You could die while watching Uncut Gems.

(Despite my jokes, I actually applaud Disney for getting the seizure warning right this time after not handling the same issue with Incredibles 2 very well.) (And I really, honestly do think someone with heart problems could have a heart attack and die after getting absorbed in the non-stop tension in Uncut Gems.)

Some of the film’s weaknesses may be secret strengths. So many of Howard’s relationships feature dynamics that are hard to decipher, but I do think that’s because he’s playing poker with life. Julia, in particular, is tricky to read. She often appears to be simply using Howard, but at other moments, the character is in the relationship one hundred thousand percent, even risking her own life to carry out his orders. With reflection, I suspect this is why Howard is so drawn to her. He’s a gambler, and he enjoys bluffing through his own relationship with a fellow gambler (of sorts).

Simply put, this film will not be for everyone, and the last quarter of the movie is by far the strongest part. Some people might be turned off by the frenzied chaos and fail to make it that far.

Overall:

I have spent weeks winnowing down a Top Ten list for 2019 films, and now I see I’m going to have to clear a spot for Uncut Gems. I’m still thinking about this film. Last night, I had trouble falling asleep because I was so worried for Howard’s family, and I wanted to tie up all the loose ends in the movie. Isn’t that crazy? Adam Sandler is fantastic here, and the film is excellent, too, but I warn you, maybe you should book a massage afterwards. The excruciating, prolonged tension in this movie is murder on the muscles.

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