Uncut Gems

Starring: Adam Sandler, LaKeith Stanfield, Julia Fox, Idina Menzel, Kevin Garnett, Pom Klementieff, Judd Hirsch, Tilda Swinton (voice), John Amos, Keith William Richards, The Weeknd
Directed by: Benny Safdie, Josh Safdie
Rating: R
Genre: Drama, Thriller
2019

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: A jeweler (Adam Sandler) risks everything for one big score.

Review:

Tim: Man, I was looking forward to the Safdie Brothers' Uncut Gems. I loved what they did with Robert Pattinson in the suffocating, intense Good Time. This movie was well-received and it should have garnered Adam Sandler an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor (it's not a good idea to threaten to make bad movies on Netflix if you don't get a nom). All this combines to what I knew would be an interesting time. You can imagine my disappointment when I didn't care for the movie much. There's definitely positives throughout the film, but it somehow doesn't add up as strongly as it should have. Its interesting that the film didn't receive a single Academy Award nomination. It's a decent movie, but it should have been better.

The film certainly features an interesting character in Howard Ratner. He's a Jewish New York City jeweler, a philanderer, a gambling addict, selfish and self-serving. He's obviously the centerpiece of the film and the most memorable aspect of the story. It helps that Adam Sandler gives perhaps the best performance of his career (I say perhaps because you could argue for a few others). He's very un-Adam Sandler in a stunningly energetic and at times cringeworthy role. He really inhabits this character and brings him to life. It truly is a wonderful performance. If he hadn't been so vocal in the wrong ways, you have to believe he would have taken Jonathan Pryce's slot at the Academy Awards. I believe he should have been nominated. It's the best part of the film, watching him work. The problem is more with the character- he's horribly unlikable. I've talked about this a great deal in reviews- you don't necessarily need likeable characters. It certainly helps, however, it's not a requirement. You can make great movies with unlikable characters, but you have to have a connection- you have to care about them, even despite their unlikability. That didn't happen for me here. I didn't like Sandler's character (it's hard to think of someone who would), but the issue is that I also didn't care about him. The movie doesn't give us enough reason to become invested in his story. So much of the problems Howard experiences are of his own making. That helps make him a tragic figure, but it doesn't help us care about him. Fate needed to play a bigger role in this. We might have cared more for his character.

I'll give you an example. Most of the film's drama comes after Howard inexplicably lets Kevin Garnett borrow his uncut gem, which he values at around $1 million. Sure, he takes a championship ring as collateral, but still. You have a famous basketball player, but why on earth would any reasonable person do this? It's moronic and it obviously comes back to bite him. The Safdie brothers seem so focused on making Howard this tragic figure who just can't help himself, they push the boundaries of our credulity too far. So, the end result is that we might be mesmerized by Sandler's performance, but we can't really relate to his character.

The supporting cast is strong. LaKeith Stanfield is a really good actor and I've been so impressed with him in recent years. This isn't one of his best performances, but it still works. I was surprised how good Kevin Garnett was. He's obviously not an actor, but he was much more enjoyable than I would have expected. Idina Menzel felt like an odd casting choice, but she worked well in her role. Julia Fox did some excellent things- I really did enjoy her performance a lot. I always love seeing Judd Hirsch- he was solid in his supporting role. As a whole, the cast works well.

The movie itself is probably a bit too long. Good Time was a tightly wound, focused film, clocking in at 1 hour, 42 minutes). This film did not need to be 2 hours and 15 minutes- there's no way. All that extra time doesn't do the movie any favors. It drags the story on. It needed to be edited down significantly. Part of made Good Time so good was how unrelenting the film felt. You almost couldn't breathe, it was so intense. That's not the case here. The movie drags in too many places. When you don't love the characters, that combines for a less than stellar viewing experience.

I know I've been pretty critical of Uncut Gems. I really expected more. The Safdie Brothers have serious talent as directors and I was really hoping this would have been a great movie. Critics loved the movie, regular audiences were less enthused. I have to side with them. This was a decent movie with a great lead performance, but the movie doesn't rise to what Sander does on screen.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating- 6.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Good Time, Punch Drunk Love