A- | A diamond dealer readies for the biggest sale of his life. Directed by Josh and Benny Safdie Starring Adam Sandler, Julia Fox, and Kevin Garnett Review by Jon Kissel |
Uncut Gems was one of the more important and notable movies from 2019, and I would usually write an appropriately lengthy review in correlation with all the professional ink that was spilled on it, but I am unfamiliar with the autosave feature on the latest version of MS Office and the 1000+ words I wrote earlier this evening somehow disappeared. I’m too irritated to recreate that review, so this is going to be shorter than usual. That kind of mishap, however, seems appropriate for Uncut Gems, a comedy of errors where things keep going wrong for its nigh-intolerable protagonist, diamond district denizen Howard Ratner. Played by Adam Sandler in one of his groundhog-esque displays of acting ability, poking his head up out of the David Spade/Kevin James dirt to remind everyone of his talent, Howard tests the limits of my empathy. Saddled with a compulsive illness that he would characterize as ‘how he wins,’ Howard is so reckless and dangerous that he devalues every character in the film that chooses to spend time with or around him. Anyone who doesn’t run screaming from this guy is an abysmal judge of character.
Howard’s in the long and noble tradition of cinematic anti-heroes, and the film that contains him can trace itself back to the grimy New Hollywood era of Scorsese and Sidney Lumet. Despite NYC having cleaned itself up in the time since the 70’s, the city of Uncut Gems and directors Josh and Benny Safdie somehow seems grimier. If Scorsese and Lumet made coke-fueled movies, the Safdies make meth-fueled movies, greasy-skinned and teeth-grinding. Uncut Gems isn’t quite as stressful as I was led to believe, but it is one of these infiltrating movies that worms its way into your brain, making the stresses of the protagonist into the stresses of the viewer. The Safdies do this with their use of overlapping dialogue and frequent cuts and a symphony of ringtones and alarm buzzers and the score by Daniel Lopatin, in addition to the delirious performances by much of the cast. Sandler is joined by the stalwart Lakeith Stanfield and his eye-popping orange hoodie, Julia Fox as Howard’s mistress, and a surprisingly good Kevin Garnett, the only character in the film who backs away from Howard at his compulsive worst.
As much as I appreciate most of Uncut Gems, from the acting to the tone and a consistency in casting some of the ugliest mugs in the business, there is a sense I can’t shake that the film has too much sympathy for Howard. Something like spiritual cousin Wolf of Wall Street has contempt for its characters, and I didn’t smell contempt anywhere near Uncut Gems, despite Howard’s despicable actions. If the film’s about the addictive nature of capitalism, of wanting to dominate for no real reason or purpose beyond the domination itself, there’s a good chunk of the film that, based on how tacky and gaudy everything looks, resists any kind of lifestyle porn, a particular genre that I can’t stand. That same impulse however doesn’t extend to Howard himself. I love how this movie ends up, but I would love it even more if he lost his big bet, especially if he lost it on the opening tip. The griminess of Uncut Gems means I want everyone in it to fail, up to and including Julia who is so stupid that she would choose to spend time with Howard Ratner. Two hours and 15 minutes is my personal max. B+
As much as I appreciate most of Uncut Gems, from the acting to the tone and a consistency in casting some of the ugliest mugs in the business, there is a sense I can’t shake that the film has too much sympathy for Howard. Something like spiritual cousin Wolf of Wall Street has contempt for its characters, and I didn’t smell contempt anywhere near Uncut Gems, despite Howard’s despicable actions. If the film’s about the addictive nature of capitalism, of wanting to dominate for no real reason or purpose beyond the domination itself, there’s a good chunk of the film that, based on how tacky and gaudy everything looks, resists any kind of lifestyle porn, a particular genre that I can’t stand. That same impulse however doesn’t extend to Howard himself. I love how this movie ends up, but I would love it even more if he lost his big bet, especially if he lost it on the opening tip. The griminess of Uncut Gems means I want everyone in it to fail, up to and including Julia who is so stupid that she would choose to spend time with Howard Ratner. Two hours and 15 minutes is my personal max. B+
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