“Uncut Gems” gives a career best from Sandler and proves the presence of a talented director duo

Following their 2017 thriller “Good Time”, the Safdie brothers (Josh and Benny) needed to successfully make a film just as unique, intense, and exciting as their directorial debut, while also making one that would earn themselves their much-deserved awards recognition. Thankfully, their sophomore effort, “Uncut Gems” will undoubtedly raise their career status to new heights, while reinvigorating the career of lead Adam Sandler with a career-best performance.

The film’s protagonist, Howard, is one of the most dislikable main characters I have ever seen in film. A jeweler in New York’s Diamond District, Howard is a manipulative and two-faced business owner who deceives all of his co-workers, customers, and even family members. Lying and stretching the truth to gain more and more money with each gamble and purchase, Howard is chased down by loansharks and their goons as he searches for his valuable Black Opal diamond, which was taken from him by basketball player Kevin Garnett. While he is on the run to gain back his property, Howard is also on the run from his enraged enemies until the film’s final scene, and his race against time with the loansharks’ overbearing presence throughout the movie makes for a tense and uncomfortable experience, filled with anxiety and fear for the fate of Howard and his family.

Sandler’s performance is realistic, visceral, and outright disturbing as he portrays a broken and misguided man who keeps making bad decision after bad decision. While the screenplay makes it hard for the audience to care for Howard as he continues to dig himself deeper into debt and trouble as soon as he is in the clear, Sandler exceeds in the film’s small and subtle emotional moments which delve deep into the character on a human level. Howard is not without his comedic moments, however, as Sandler does an excellent job at allowing the audience to laugh at and with his character.

I must also hold a candle to both the screenplay and the sound design. Much of the film contains scenes where the dialogue is quick, intense, and contained, and many people in one room will continuously talk over each other. Making such a dialogue-heavy film that feels natural, fluid, and real, is a task that I do not envy, and I’m sure the actors and editors involved worked tirelessly to make each scene and piece of the script to be as intense and nerve-racking as possible.

In conclusion, I would describe “Uncut Gems” as a real-life horror movie, one where the villains are the pissed-off crime lords and money launderers who hunt Howard down, and the hero is a broken and money-hungry man who never knows when to quit. The film’s quick edits, storytelling, and script, along with its realistic performances, make for a fast-paced thriller that moves at a breakneck speed, never taking a breath for air until the final shots.

Rating: 8/10