Uncut Gems (2019)

★★★★★

A charismatic New York City jeweller always on the lookout for the next big score makes a series of high-stakes bets that could lead to the windfall of a lifetime.

Classification: 15

We are all bound by the universe, at the atomic level we are all the same, not just people, but animals, foliage, the stars of space itself, we are united despite pressure forming these atoms into so many different beautiful forms. As the camera bores down into the enlightening colours of the black opal which enamours all that look within it, you can see galaxies transform into the very life that surrounds us, this cosmic promise of salvation and how we are all connected to it. Uncut Gems, this masterpiece of tension, avarice, corruption, love and cultural, spiritual unity follows the story of Howard Ratner, a New York City jeweller whose gambling addictions and impulsive behaviour has his life threaten to fall apart. The universal pressures that formed the spellbinding uncut black Opal which Howard has purchased with borrowed money to auction for profit, become the pressures that begin to bind him and the audience as Howard's obsession for victory has him loan out the gem to Boston Celtics star Kevin Garnett. Then placing more bets with borrowed money on Garnett's basketball games and digging himself deeper into trouble with his impatient creditors, the anxiety of Howard's actions takes the audience through an immersive emotional journey.

Uncut Gems is a spiritual experience from beginning to end as the Safdie Brothers, raw gritty 70's thriller aesthetic is intensified by the deep symbolism in their script also co-written by Ronald Bronstein but through the God tier performance from Adam Sandler. Sandler, an actor infamous for low brow comedy but with a small resume of impressive dramatic roles delivers a performance that not only redefines his career and legacy as an actor but goes beyond recognition and praise that could come from mere words or awards. This truly is a performance that shall stand the test of time as Sandler vanishes completely into Howard Ratner, playing both into his strengths but unlocking new depths that give unflinching humanity to his character's flaws, fears, and tenacity. Howard Ratner is a man who doesn't know when to quit, doesn't accept when he's beat, always on the move, always ready for the next big score, indulgent and instinctive but blind to his disaster building in front of him. The Safdie's vision for this character's arc goes beyond typical "gambler in a bind" but expresses a deeper story of cultural identity and the promised salvation tied within.

The Safdie's vision for the film is entrenched in realism, from the character actors playing New York city jewellers, thugs, and Kevin Garnett playing himself to Darius Khondji's cinematography, nothing about Uncut Gems feels inauthentic in its believability. While some tension could be deflated if you are aware of the NBA playoffs in 2012 and could predict the outcome to Howard's various 6-way parlay bets nothing can deflate the trembling tension irradiating through your body as the Safdie's film show Howard beyond rationale or reason complicates his dealings further with more bets. This belief that his time is coming, that the payoff has arrived, the everything had lead to this, It's a high wire act that doesn't let up and the Safdie's expertly build this tension through the unshakeable realism. Eric Bogosian as Arno, a loan shark and his thugs rough up and threaten Howard but there is always a palpable danger that Howard is one misstep from losing everything and whatever safety nets or back up plans he set up won't save him. Keith Williams Richards as Phil, Arno's henchmen brings amazing intensity to this danger, and it's one of Uncut Gems many strengths with the whole cast from stars to extras, that none of this feels like a performance. It is as real and raw as the streets of New York itself as Khondji's cinematography uses almost documentary esque techniques to chart Howard's interactions with the city. Wide shots of Sandler arguing with Bogosian or Julia Fox in public places garner authentic reactions from passing pedestrians; pure uncut New York life reflecting the audience's own response. Miyako Bellizzi's costume design gets a shoutout as well as the lived-in but affluent iconic look to Howard Ratner only does more to embed him forever into our hearts. The leather jackets, the velour tracksuits alongside Julia Fox's alluring outfits and lingerie, Idina Menzel standing indignant in her old pink Bat Mitzvah dress, everything is excellently detailed and sinks the audience deeper into the world. Also, I want one of the bedazzled Furbies from Howard's showroom, glorious, absolutely glorious.

While the dual collapse of Howard's home and professional life is a beautiful nerve-wracking experience in itself, the Safdie's brings opal depths to the script's deeper meaning and how the Uncut Gem represents far more than a financial opportunity for Howard. My love for Sandler's performance will probably outlive the lifetimes of every star in our universe but that in no means that he is picking up anybody's slack; Lakeith Stanfield, Julia Fox, Idina Menzel and Eric Bogosian are all brilliant in how they reveal these intricate layers to the world and the immorality and complexity to Howard's character and their own. However they all fit into designated roles; accomplice, girlfriend, wife, adversary it is the role of Kevin Garnett that is the most interesting to Howard's story and the crux to the entire conflict to Uncut Gems. Garnett's performance is incredible, effortlessly recreating himself from a different era and being a notable unmovable force that matches Howard's own egotistical confidence. Howard and Garnett are bound by the black opal, this chance of fate has brought them together at a precipice of their lives; Howard facing financial and personal ruin and Garnett's reputation on the line with the NBA playoffs. They both look into the black opal and see the universe and this journey of themselves throughout history, the opal mined by Ethiopian jews is an unspoken connection to the plights of Africans and Jews across history. How the gem's infinite potential represents this promised salvation to the suffering, Howard celebrates the holiday of Passover with his family, a sequence that goes deeper into his faith as a man, husband and father but reveals new tensions with Idina Menzel and Eric Bogosian's character. Deeper however is that Passover, which tells the story of Exodus, the plagues and the Israelites freedom from slavery and their journey to return to the promised land. Uncut Gems has incredibly subtle cultural and religious imagery and with Howard being an American Jew and Garnett an African American, the Safdie's examine the modern contexts of how their people have brought them both the black opal and how the salvation may have all become perverted by greed and perhaps to an extent western influence on these cultures.

The deeper you go, the more you absorb from the Safdie's film and there is nothing more evocative to the senses than Daniel Lopatin's euphoric, cosmic synthesised masterpiece of a score. If Uncut Gems' visual aesthetic relishes in the classic New York grit of the seventies than the auditory experience is reminiscent of the otherworldly vibes of Vangelis, the synth styles of the eighties in an amazing marriage of two distinct visions to create something familiar but dazzlingly unique. Like the opal, it's a music score that elevates everything before you; the opal, the nightlife, the anxiety, the inevitability to everything Howard has done to himself. Beautiful, intoxicating, it is both a balm and a knife as Lopatin soothes and exhilarates the audience as Howard's erratic and emotional behaviour never lets up, leading to a finale that leaves you breathless, your heart racing, and literally shaking in transcendent awe.

One of the best films of its year, one of the best films of its decade with a lead performance that will never be forgotten, Uncut Gems is the perfection of time and pressure forming a jewel of cinema for the ages. Adam Sandler and the Safdie brothers have created something truly extraordinary that resonates within its audiences souls, always drawing them back to look deeper, to uncover more and interpret within its imagery and story. A cinematic promise of salvation that connects the filmmaker and audience to the ballad of Howard Ratner.

This is how we win.

Director: #JoshSafdie and #BennySafdie

Screenwriter: #RonaldBronstein, #JoshSafdie, and #BennySafdie

Cast: #AdamSandler, #LakeithStanfield, #JuliaFox, #KevinGarnett, #IdinaMenzel, #EricBogosian, #JuddHirsch