Uncut Gems
It’s honestly a bit surprising that Adam Sandler doesn’t dip his feet into the director-driven world of the modern independent cinema more. Even if I’m not a fan of his broad comedies, he’s made a comfortable career out of them, but I’d love to see more of Sandler putting himself in the hands of a filmmaker like he did with Paul Thomas Anderson for “Punch-Drunk Love” (or even Mike Binder for “Reign Over Me”). Of course, looking over the past few years of his career, I’ve missed collaborations with the likes of Tom McCarthy, Jason Reitman and Noah Baumbach, but those clearly did not leave much of a mark if they didn’t really get the end-of-year consideration Anderson’s film did, or the latest from The Safdie Brothers, “Uncut Gems,” has from critics.
I have yet to watch any of the previous films from Benny and Josh Safdie, but “Uncut Gems” certainly has me curious to go back and watch some more of their work (“Good Time,” starring Robert Pattinson, was already on my radar). There’s some compelling and original about the way these guys, along with writer Ronald Bronstein, bring us into the world of Sandler’s Howard Ratner, that I honestly am not sure what to think about it. In a way, I couldn’t help but wonder whether the character, who runs a jewelry store in New York City, was reinforcing negative Jewish stereotypes in the way the character seems to hustle for money. That’s not it, though; Ratner is essentially a creep. Stringing his wife (Idina Menzel) along to avoid a divorce while he bangs one of his employees at the store (Julia, played by Julia Fox), Howard is a hustler more than a legit businessman, although his business is legit. He has a gambling problem that has put him in the hole, and he makes some shady dealings to try and turn his luck around. One day, his ship appears to come in when not only does Kevin Garnett (playing himself, and he has some chops) enter his shop because Howard’s buddy Demany (LaKeith Stanfield) convinced him to come in to buy a watch, but a package arrives that might turn his fortunes around- a rare opal from Ethiopia that is said to allow you to see the universe. Unfortunately, Howard’s worst instincts have their claws deep within him, so even if fortunes seem to change, the more things stay the same for him.
Going in to “Uncut Gems,” I did not expect a period piece. The film begins in Ethiopia in 2010 in the mines where the opal Howard will later come into possession of is found. We move deep into the mines, into a close-up of the opal, and the universe of color and light within it, and the music by Daniel Lopatin is an explosion of sound and insistence as the film transitions to Howard’s life in 2012. Having it set in 2012 is important to the narrative, and Garnett’s part in it, and it’s a compelling choice that pays off in some wild ways, like when Howard ends up at a concert for The Weeknd (also playing himself) in hopes of getting the opal rock back from Garnett. Is that too big a plot point to just throw out willy nilly? Believe me, there are plenty of others I’m not throwing out here. This is a straight-forward narrative that doesn’t move in a straight-forward manner. It’s a lot like it’s protagonist, and that’s one of the things I loved about the film as I was watching it unfold. Sandler is an interesting choice for Howard; it makes sense, because the character needs to be able to go into an intense rage at the drop of a hat, and it’s a brilliant performance from Sandler, as he makes every aspect of Howard’s personality believable to watch come out.
A friend of mine I watched “Uncut Gems” with likens the Safdie Brothers to the Coens, and I get the comparison to a point, but I think the Safdies are not quite as idiosyncratic as the Coens. Granted, that’s off of one movie; I may feel differently the more I get into their films. I like what I’ve seen out of them in this film, though. “Uncut Gems” is a character study about a man who is trying to hold his life together, but always puts himself a few steps behind because he’s too obsessed with the hustle. And the way they populate this film with interesting side characters, played by interesting actors (Stanfield, Garnett, Fox, and Menzel all make their marks, as do Judd Hirsch and Eric Bogosian), goes along with the technical aspects of their storytelling (the aforementioned score, the fantastic cinematography by Darius Khondji and the sound work by Tom Fleischman and Warren Shaw all bring something compelling to the table from a narrative standpoint) to create a compelling world that leaves us on the edge of our seat every step of the way.
