Uncut Gems
Overview
Uncut Gems is a 2019 crime thriller film directed by Josh and Benny Safdie, starring Adam Sandler as Howard Ratner, a charismatic, compulsive, and self-destructive jeweler and gambling addict in New York City's Diamond District. The film is set in 2012. Howard is a man who is always in debt, always lying, and always chasing the next big score. He owes money to his brother-in-law, Arno (Eric Bogosian), a loan shark who is threatening to kill him. He has a mistress, Julia (Julia Fox), who works in his store. He is also being chased by a basketball player, Kevin Garnett (playing himself), who has borrowed a rare, uncut Ethiopian opal for good luck. The film is a relentless, anxiety-inducing, and claustrophobic thriller. The camera is always close to Howard's face, and the dialogue is overlapping and chaotic. The film is a meditation on addiction, greed, and the self-destructive nature of the human psyche. The film ends with Howard finally winning a massive bet on a basketball game. He celebrates, and he is then shot in the face by a hitman sent by Arno. The film ends with Howard lying on the floor, dead, and a bullet hole in the wall. Uncut Gems was a critical and commercial success, earning over $50 million on a $20 million budget. Adam Sandler was widely praised for his performance, and he won the Independent Spirit Award for Best Male Lead. The film is a masterpiece of anxiety cinema, a relentless, unforgettable, and brilliantly acted film.
