Uncut Gems (2019)

☆ ☆ ☆ ½

Uncut Gems (2019) – B. Safdie & J. Safdie

The problem with Uncut Gems is that it is generally unpleasant all the way through.  That’s not to deny the artistry that is certainly involved in the filmmaking here (by the Safdie brothers) -- but spending all this time with Adam Sandler’s Howard Ratner is not an enjoyable experience.  He plays a jeweller who has a (sports) gambling problem and has managed to beg, borrow, and steal enough money to maintain an expensive lifestyle and mistress, despite being married with 3 or 4 kids.  When we join him, he’s got a big scheme going to make a killing on a black opal from Ethiopia that turns out to be attractive to superstar basketball player Kevin Garnett (playing himself).  But the script doesn’t give him an easy out – his creditors have their goons after him, his wife is ready to divorce him, his various shams and ruses are coming apart.  The Safdies ratchet the tension way up.  I tried to think of this as a film noir, where the central protagonist makes a key mistake (often due to a personal weakness), and then pays a heavy price for that mistake.  It’s more or less true but we keep hoping that Howard will make that next big score that offers salvation (if he is willing to stop there).  The film doesn’t actually feel like noir though – it is too amped up, despite taking us to too many locations, introducing too many characters and then dead ends in true noir fashion; it’s a wonder that Howard doesn’t collapse from a stroke at any point.  Sandler’s acting is solid – he disappears into this character – but this character is a loser.  Probably best to think of this as another exercise in the Safdie’s trashy style, laced with some druggy interludes, and unafraid to go for broke.