Uncut Gems

Before you question my rating of 5 stars, read on... For those of use who grew up with him, Adam Sandler represented a classic, one-dimensional comedic character whose variation from film to film hardly wavered. Then came Punch Drunk Love, and Sandler's role availability opened wide. Uncut Gems is for what its worth, a cumulative performance from Sandler. I think he took all the tools he has accumulated over the years and invested the bulk of them in this film. The way attention is drawn to the opal rock (uncut gems) is interesting both cinematically and historically. Unfortunately, this piece is not based on a true story, but it has all the hallmarks of such a film. Speaking to the film itself, I was roped in from the first moment and carried through to an unspoiled end.

Adam Sandler did a great job in this one, the story was interesting and acting good in general and was a decent medium budget thriller. What KILLS this movie was the music. They tried to incorporated some weird 1980's synth music that sometime works but DOES NOT work on other parts like the final showdown. The music was advertising calm and soothing during tense situations and vise versa. It's like whoever did the music didn't watch the movie. It kept pulling me out of my immersion every time and would make me comment on what a weird music decision they made. This could have been a really great music if they wouldn't have experimented with the soundtrack like that.

A nearly perfect film, beautifully designed, shot and edited to be as gross, messy and loose as possible. The story -- while hyper-specific to the protagonist Howard Ratner and the Safdie Brothers themselves -- is a universal one about the utter destruction cycles of addiction can bring you as well as a story about the perilous trap of materialism. The feel and movement of this movie is gorgeous and I have never seen a movie of this scale be so kinetic. The way movie characters experience film in movies, laughing and jeering and shouting at the screen, is how this movie comes off on the viewer. It's an experience as much as it is a movie, but it's a feeling that I think works just as well on a phone screen as it does on a theater screen. The craft and commitment the Safdies put into each film, utilizing non-actors as both characters and extras, as well as having their actors explore improvisation and living in their roles in ways that have hardly been done before. Learning about that process, alone, is almost as fascinating and magical. They're making movies the way movies should be made and are paving the path for poorer and less established filmmakers to make good, powerful and socially legitimate films in brave new ways. The film evokes classic films like Scarface, Bad Lieutenant and Casino. I've not related to a character in a movie more in a long time. I think it's a modern classic and worth the time of anyone who's even partially willing to give it.