Uncut Gems (2019) Movie Review

Uncut Gems (2019) Movie Review

I honestly just want to talk for a minute about Adam Sandler. I’ve been watching his films for years and years; I can remember being very young and watching such PG-rated seminal works as Bedtime Stories and Hotel Transylvania. Once I got a little older I started to watch the films that he’s based his career off of – Billy Madison, Happy Gilmore, The Waterboy, Big Daddy, and the like, along with other truly timeless standards such as Grown Ups. The man has undoubtedly had an extremely successful career in the film industry and is obviously a household name when it comes to comedies. Although Sandler is generally well-respected by a vast audience, to say he hasn’t had his fair shair of complete duds over the years would be wrong. Several of his movies are considered some of the worst comedies ever made (Jack and Jill, That’s My Boy, Pixels), and his 2016 effort The Ridiculous 6 holds an astounding 0% on Rotten Tomatoes. And it wouldn’t be me talking about Adam Sandler without mentioning Little Nicky, which I still can’t even believe exists, and is, to this day, one of the most insane movies I’ve seen in my life. However, almost needless to say, his career successes far outweigh the failures. Maybe I’m just repeating something a lot of people have already thought for a long time, but I fully consider Adam Sandler a genuine legend of comedy. Not many other actors in Hollywood history have carried so much star power for so long and have made as many beloved hit films as he has, especially when it comes to comedy. And then there are the more serious movies he’s made. For a long time, the most prominent example would have been Paul Thomas Anderson’s critically acclaimed Punch-Drunk Love, which is what is usually used as evidence in conversations about whether Sandler can “actually” act or not. He’s also been in some other dramas like Reign Over Me and The Meyerowitz Stories, and there are a few other examples, but the thing is, I’ve never seen any of those movies. For years, the Adam Sandler I’d known was the same humorous Adam Sandler pretty much everybody else knows. Uncut Gems was released at the tail end of 2019. Immediately it got rave reviews; it became clear that this would be the non-comedy movie of his that would forever affirm claims of his acting talent. I was interested as soon as I saw the trailer for it, but never really got around to it despite all the buzz surrounding it. After he failed to become nominated by the Academy for his performance, I remember seeing a headline about him saying that he would make the “worst movie ever” in retaliation (is that what became Hubie Halloween? Because I wouldn’t even call that a terrible movie if I’m being completely honest). Regardless, it took me until February of 2021 to watch Uncut Gems, and I’m really so glad I did because it lives up to the hype as far as I’m concerned. 

I don’t think I’m really gonna be able to talk about this movie in the way that I’d like to without completely spoiling it, so consider this your warning before reading the rest of the review. I think I’ll just give my usual little film summary here without too many spoilers and then once I get into actually discussing my opinions, I’ll start to spoil it. Anyways. Uncut Gems follows Howard Ratner (Adam Sandler), the owner of a jewelry store in the Diamond District who has just received a valuable black opal from the mines of Ethiopia. Howard’s employee/acquaintance Demany (Lakeith Stanfield) brings basketball player Kevin Garnett to the store to shop for jewelry. Garnett sees the black opal and becomes immediately transfixed by it, believing that it will bring him good luck in his career. Howard agrees to let Garnett borrow the precious stone for the night once Garnett gives him his 2008 NBA Championship ring as collateral. Being the gambling addict that he is, Howard goes and pawns the ring for $600,000, then bets all of that money on Garnett’s performance in that night’s game. He wins the bet but is attacked outside his daughter’s school play by several loan sharks who reveal that they stopped the bet and collected the bet money because Howard owed them that $600,000. Howard’s wife (Idina Menzel) finds him naked and beaten up in a trunk in the school parking lot, further driving their marriage apart. Howard goes to see his employee Julia (Julia Fox) that night, who he also has a relationship with, but things between them also go sour. Eventually, Howard is left scrambling to try to fix his two relationships, get the loan sharks off his back, and sell the stone to Garnett. 

I don’t think I fully knew what to expect from this movie going into it but I think I can safely say that it blew me away. This is definitely a crime thriller, but it’s unlike any other crime thriller that I’ve seen before. With other crime thrillers, there are usually a lot of high-octane plot events like robberies, heists, shootouts, a bunch of people being killed, etc. And while there definitely is some of that stuff in Uncut Gems, the film manages to have an almost ridiculously tense atmosphere without necessarily relying on shock factor. Instead, its suspense lies in the hands of Howard, an extremely unpredictable character who gets a kick out of thrill-chasing and is never satisfied with anything. I was left with a helpless feeling watching Howard take risk after risk and make bad decision after bad decision. In general this is just a very stressful movie to watch. It never lets up; the plot progresses at an almost dizzying speed, yet at no point becomes confusing or convoluted. Howard isn’t actually doing much besides placing bets, making angry phone calls, and running around New York, but the film keeps you on the edge of your seat because you know everything could fall apart at a moment’s notice. This is one of those movies where you basically just watch the main character’s life progressively unravel. I usually find those sorts of movies kinda depressing, and Uncut Gems could definitely be considered somewhat depressing in a sense, but it’s far from a “feel-bad” film. It’s very entertaining, partially because of how fast-paced it is, but also because of how much energy the film has overall. Pretty much everyone kills their performances. Sandler blows it out of the water; he plays Howard with just enough sleaziness and immorality that the character becomes unlikeable, but Sandler’s natural charm makes it impossible to root against him. You really want Howard to come out on top in the end because everything is going wrong for him. But at the same time, it’s basically his own fault, and he’s done a lot of shady stuff behind everyone else’s backs. The Safdie Brothers, who wrote and directed Uncut Gems together, worked wonders casting this film. Idina Menzel, who I previously thought of as the woman who sang “Let It Go” and whose name was completely butchered by John Travolta at the Oscars (“Adele Dazeem”), is absolutely perfect as Howard’s fed-up wife who is beyond tired of him putting business over family and getting himself into trouble. Lakeith Stanfield also nails it as Demany, Howard’s ever-relaxed business associate who gets paid to bring the celebrities he hangs out with into the shop. Perhaps the most impressive performance of the movie is Julia Fox’s, particularly since this is her first film role ever and she seems like a natural already. She’s claimed in interviews that her character is very similar to how she is in real life, but still, she pretty much knocks it out of the park. One of my favorite things about Uncut Gems is how many aesthetics it pieces together. It’s part Jewish crime film, part hood film, part very dark comedy, and part domestic drama, with an additional nightclub-noir sort of feel. The movie also has an artsy sort of vibe to it even though it’s very much a studio film. Uncut Gems puts all these components together in a way that seems nearly effortless. This is a film that is equal parts style and substance, with a lot to offer in both categories. Speaking of style, the music in this film is just incredible. Daniel Lopatin’s ethereal electronic original score is noticeably good, and I’m not necessarily much of a film score guy. To emphasize the fact that the movie takes place in the year 2012, a handful of early 2010s rap classics are thrown in as well, such as “Swimming Pools,” “Amen,” and “Type of Way” (which was released in 2013 but ok). Additionally, The Weeknd makes a cameo performing “The Morning” at a club (which also happens to be my favorite song of his), and even gets in a fight with Howard over Julia. Trinidad James of “All Gold Everything” fame and Ca$h Out of “Cashin’ Out” fame make appearances as well. Madonna’s “Rain” and Gigi D’Agostino’s “L’amour Toujours” are also welcome additions to the soundtrack. Maybe my favorite use of music in the movie is when Billy Joel’s already-cinematic “The Stranger” plays while Howard is in the car with his family while they’re on their way to his “work apartment” where Julia has been staying so he can make sure she’s not still there following an argument between the two of them. Meanwhile, Howard’s children are oblivious to the fact that he and his wife are on the brink of breaking up, and while the whole thing combined with the song could be considered a little too on-the-nose, I think it’s very effective at helping to paint the picture of Howard’s crumbling life.

Now is when I’m gonna start talking about my thoughts on the film’s ending, so things are basically going to get as spoiler-heavy as possible. If you’re fine with that, keep reading, if not, just skip to the last paragraph I guess. One of my favorite things about Uncut Gems is how the ending ties back to the opening credits. The movie opens by showing us the Ethiopian mine itself. We see the miners hustling about, and eventually two miners go into a cave and find the black opal that is eventually delivered to Howard. The camera zooms in on the colorful little crystal in the stone and the opening credits begin while we are taken on a tour of what looks like a galaxy in outer space, but is eventually revealed to be Howard’s internal organs. This is sort of hard to explain using words, sorry. At the very end of the movie, Howard finally sells Garnett the stone, but then the loan sharks come into his store to get their money. He gives the money to Julia, who escapes and travels to a casino via helicopter to place a parlay on Garnett playing well in his game that night. Howard stays at the store and traps the loan sharks between the store’s security doors so that they can neither get to him or leave. Howard turns the game on, and he wins the bet of $1.3 million when Garnett ends up playing well. In his excited state, Howard opens the security doors, and one of the loan sharks promptly shoots and kills him. In the last shot of the movie, Howard lies there, dead on the floor of his own store, with a grin on his face from when he was still alive. The camera zooms in again on the bullet wound and we are once again taken through the maze of outer space-esque scenery in the black opal from the opening credits. There is a lot I like about this ending. Firstly, yes, it is disappointing that he dies, since things have finally financially worked out for him and his relationship with Julia is as good as it’s ever been. But in a sense, it’s not really that unhappy of an ending. Howard has just won the biggest bet of his life; it all ends on the highest note possible for him, which is I think why the filmmakers chose for the smile to stay on his face even once he dies. It was a very bold choice on the Safdies’ part to have Howard die, and it is a decision that I can definitely respect. If he had lived, maybe the ending would have been happier, but since he doesn’t, the ending sort of begs the audience to make up their mind about what they think the meaning of his death is. Because the camera shows us that the inner workings of the black opal and Howard’s bullet wound are the exact same, it is essentially implied that Howard himself is the uncut gem. Thinking about whether Howard is the uncut gem or not isn’t complicated, because he clearly is. What requires more thought is finding some actual meaning from that. I think Howard being the uncut gem basically means that he’s an “anti-hero” (a term that I find sort of annoying for whatever reason but I feel like is appropriate in this context) in the truest sense; he’s a bad person but at the end of the day you just have to like him. Even though he has a pretty rough journey throughout the film, he finally shines at the very end, like an uncut gem. 

There aren’t very many movies like this, that are simultaneously so nerve-racking and so fun to watch. If you’re someone who’s looking for a true thrill ride of a film, Uncut Gems is a must-see. I think it has also been proven, once and for all, that Adam Sandler is an undeniably competent actor. Even if he does go on to make a lot more uninspired comedies down the road, Uncut Gems will always be here to remind everyone that, when he wants to, he can pull off a truly difficult role like Howard Ratner. This is the complete opposite of your average Sandler film – instead of having a pro-family message, the protagonist is about as lousy of a family man as you could find. I’ve given Sandler a lot of praise in this review, but I also want to reiterate that pretty much everyone involved did an incredible job with this film. All of the other actors and actresses delivered, and the Safdie brothers succeeded in making a highly effective movie. This is not the type of movie that you watch and then just forget about. Uncut Gems is a very engaging and stimulating crime thriller that I’m going to give an A as a grade. I’m definitely interested to see what the Safdie brothers will do next. And to the people who say this movie is too loud or abrasive to enjoy, all I can say is…