Uncut Gems (2019)

Howard Ratner (Adam Sandler) is a new york diamond merchant always on the move. Chasing fortune and running away from debt. He is a man driven by greed and anxiety, a snowball rolling downhill towards inevitable self-destruction. With every misguided step towards wealth, he falls deeper into the trap of debt.

Uncut Gems is a film about the destructive nature of lust for wealth. Howard is not a man without. He has a beautiful wife (Idina Menzel), two beautiful homes, three children, a wealthy clientele and to top it all off a woman on the side who cares for him. When we are introduced to Howard's life, it has already begun to crumble. It seems somewhat repairable, that maybe by some other actions or some other man, this life could be salvaged. The problem is Howard has no interest in fixing it; he is obsessed with more wealth and the change that will inevitably follow. Howard is an unstoppable ball of energy always moving and changing states giving himself and the people around him no time to react rationally.

Adam Sandler's performance oozes with energy. The camera, Struggling to keep up with every move, chases after him as the pulsating score in the background accents the pure electricity of each scene. In many scenes, Sandler moves continuously and freely. Usually, if performers move around a scene, they must hit a "mark," a predetermined spot allowing the camera operators to track the movement while keeping them in focus fluidly. The directing team behind this film, the Safdie Brothers, knew they wanted Sandler to be able to move freely on the screen. To achieve that goal, they had to implement new technology that would keep the focus on Sandler at all times.

The implementation of this technology was a learning curve for everyone on set, but it allowed the creative team to create a look and feel that was somewhat unheard of before. Darius Khondji, a name you've most likely never heard, is a cinematographer who has been working for the last 40 years with some of the most creative and innovative projects in film history. Khondji has said this project pushed him in ways he had never been pushed before. His involvement elevates the film to some of the most impressive cinematic techniques of the past decade. The creatives involved with the project were very carefully selected, none more so than Adam Sandler.

In 2009 Benny and Josh Safdie had already begun to develop Uncut Gems and even approached Sandler to play the lead role. An interesting casting choice since Sandler hadn't done many dramatic roles in 2009, and still hasn't done much serious dramatic work. It was absurd, of course, that two twenty-somethings with almost no experience would even have their request passed on to Sandler. After the success of their second feature-length project, Josh and Benny approached Sandler again, who this time agreed. Back in 2009, the Safdies knew precisely who was meant to play this part, and they were right.

The role of Howard Ratner cannot be an easy one to play. From the opening of the film, we know that we are in the presence of a grade-A asshole. Everything that happens to Howard is of his own design, good or bad; it's all his fault. No matter how many times he shoots himself in the foot or hurts someone else, we still want him to win. Maybe it's because we are just as delusional as Howard is. Thinking that if he wins big and finally gets everything he wants, he'll be happy. Sandler brings so much humanity to a character that is unlikeable to his core. It's a real shame that he didn't get more credit for such a powerful performance.

The Safdie brothers have an exciting career ahead of them. They've done an excellent job with Uncut Gems. They took a dream they had ten or more years in the past and made it as real as anyone could. With some real veteran professionals in Darius Khondji and Adam Sandler and some new innovative techniques, they have created a film that will always stand out amongst other works of the 2010s.