Uncut Gems.

Review #1316: Uncut Gems.

Cast:
Adam Sandler (Howard Ratner), Julia Fox (Julia), Idina Menzel (Dinah Ratner), Lakeith Stanfield (Demany), Kevin Garnett (Himself), Eric Bogosian (Arno), Keith Williams Richards (Phil), Judd Hirsch (Gooey), Mike Francesa (Gary), Noa Fisher (Marcel Ratner), Jonathan Aranbayev (Eddie Ratner), Jacob Igielski (Beni Ratner), and Wayne Diamond (Wayne) Directed by Josh Safdie and Benny Safdie.

Review:
What is so alluring about the big risk? What makes us want to take a huge gamble and roll with what could be a huge win - or a huge loss? It probably is the same reason one can persist on with trying to find the next best gem - or in movie terms, one always wants to see if there's an ever better movie out there to view next. Uncut Gems will certainly be one of those films that inspires plenty of interest, where pangs of apprehension and anxiety (if one gets anxiety from films, I guess) the chase of seeing a tremendous lead performance that make up a pretty good time. One needs a good character-driven film like this from time to time, a grimy yet occasionally amusing film that works for a certain kind of thrill and achieves those ends without really seeming to lose sight of delivering on its risks from beginning to end. I must admit, I was initially a bit skeptical about Sandler for the lead role. He has had his moments where he can command the screen for laughs and had done a few films that weren't primarily comedies, such as Punch-Drunk Love (2002) and The Meyerowitz Stories (2017, directed by the Safdies, who had developed the first draft of this film's script in 2009), but it was more the buzz that developed around this film prior to its release that helped seal the deal. When it comes to late December/January releases, sometimes you want to see something a bit different get a release to shine (for which I emphasize wide release, not streaming release) - and this is especially appropriate. Sandler does a tremendous job with this role, a high-wire force with plenty of manic energy - he is the kind of person that could annoy everyone from his family to his customers and still have a chance at getting the big push, where one finds themselves watching him play himself and everyone else out on an ever-expanding board of bets and deals. In short, he may very well earn himself serious consideration for an Academy Award (boy that's a sentence to start a decade off with). With that in mind, the cast around him is just as well-picked to the surroundings, such as Fox and her captivating presence (with this being her screen debut), or Garnett and his magnetic force as himself that works every time without seeming like a overgrown cameo (if none of that sounds surprising, there's also talk-radio host Francesa as a bookie), or others like Stanfield and Bogosian when it comes to how they just interact with Sandler and his antics (namely exasperation). One wonders what the best sequence is to highlight, but I think the one that really sets it is right in the beginning, involving Sandler, fish with a rock inside and a rambling employee. He sees a magnificent black opal (for which we see in colorful detail more than once) and we just the pleasure he gets from having it in his possession, the hypnotic nature of wanting the big win (or rock) no matter the risk - which the film sells for itself quite well for. It shines in most aspects for 135 minutes in part because of the risks in wants to take with its direction, its actors, style and music (Darius Khondji and Daniel Lopatin, respectively), and it all works out the way it has to go to stand tall. Whether one finds themselves enthralled or anxious, this proves to be well-deserved gem to view, that much is for sure.

Overall, I give it 9 out of 10 stars.