'Uncut Gems' review: Adam Sandler has never been better (TIFF)
Photo courtesy of A24
Comedian Adam Sandler has flirted with dramatic roles in his movies for almost twenty years. For every few man-child comedies like “Billy Madison” and “Happy Gilmore”, he would throw his fans a curveball and make something off the beaten path. Some worked (“Punch Drunk Love,” “The Meyerowitz Stories”) and some didn’t (“Spanglish,” “Reign Over Me”), but you could always see Sandler trying his best to branch out and create something different. Even the rumored roles that he eventually passed on, like supporting turns in “Collateral” and “Inglourious Basterds”, screamed of an artist aching to stretch his dramatic muscles. His latest attempt at something new is the gambling thriller “Uncut Gems”, and it’s his most cohesive experiment to date; a perfect marriage of artist and material.
“Uncut Gems” is also the new film from the Safdie brothers who recently directed the cult classic “Good Time,” a movie that made Robert Pattinson look convincingly unattractive and despicable. In this new movie Sandler plays Howard Ratner, a New York jeweler with a serious gambling problem. He’s the worst kind of addict, the kind that is in deep denial and completely pulls everyone and everything around him into his toxic orbit. But as the film begins and we’re introduced to Howard, we start to see why people fall into his schemes. He is engaging and charismatic enough to disarm his prey without being truly menacing, a trait that will come in handy the more the film progresses.
Howard is always working an angle, always looking for the next big score, and he currently has his sights on a stone so precious he believes it will instantly make him a millionaire. We even see the rock being excavated from an Ethiopian mine in the film’s opening moments to demonstrate how valuable it truly is. This makes Howard’s compulsive need to screw things up even more ironic. After a complicated series of events the stone changes hands from Howard to NBA star Kevin Garnett (playing himself). The understanding is that Garnett will examine the rock overnight and in exchange Howard will hold on to the NBA legend’s championship ring for safe keeping. But of course having something that valuable for very long isn’t in Howard’s nature and he quickly uses the ring as collateral to try and cash in on a bigger score. That sets off a chain reaction of yelling and frayed nerves that will either make you root for the crooked antihero or head for the nearest exit.
Josh and Benny Safdie direct “Uncut Gems” like an adrenaline shot to the heart with furious tension and giddy excitement, but the true star is the film’s lead performance. Adam Sandler is an out of control freight train in this movie and he has never been better. The tension mounts with each passing minute and it quickly becomes an addictive guessing game to see if Howard’s charm and quick wits are enough to pull him out of this chaotic dilemma. Many people seeing “Uncut Gems” will walk away shocked that Sandler had a performance this ferocious inside him but true fans have known it’s been there the whole time. There have been hints at his wild side over the years but this is the first time he’s completely let loose and it makes for one of the most rapturous performances of his career.
Rating: A
“Uncut Gems” will open in limited release December 13
