Year: 2019
Director(s): Safdie Brothers
Country: US
Language: English
Josh and Benny Safdie greatly impressed me with the Robert Pattison crime picture Good Time (2017); a film about a criminal who, after a heist goes wrong, has to bust his disabled brother out of jail. I have been excited to see their follow-up, Uncut Gems, ever since it was announced; nearly seeing it at Toronto Film Festival in September (had to leave earlier than anticipated). My expectations were high and I'm glad to say I wasn't dissapointed in what I saw.
A charismatic New York City jeweler (Adam Sandler) 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.
Uncut Gems is a chotic picture about both awful and wonderful people. Abrasive, assertive, scheming, provacative, deceptful; it's difficult to decipher whether we should root for them or be utterly appalled. These shades of grey are what makes the story compelling, keeping us glued to the screen as we behold Sandler's grand disastrous mess of compulsive choice after compulsive choice.
Uncut Gems' cinematographer, Darius Khandjt, creates a tense and claustrophobic atmosphere that keeps us on edge as we are forced to endure Sandler's unstable world. The heavy score plucks at our nerves, giving us goosebumps and making us feel a little irritable. Both build with the story to an inevitable fate. We know Sandler's wreckless behavior will be halted by serious consequences, we just don't know when.
Certainly going to make my Top Ten of 2019, the Safdie Brothers can seemingly do no wrong when making pictures about America's sleazy hustlers and con-men. Equal parts comedy and drama; Uncut Gems should appeal to a whole host of viewers.
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