Uncut Gems Review

Adam Sandler is Howard Ratner who runs a high-end jewelry story in the jewelry district of New York. He has acquired through a source a rock that contains black uncut opals that could be worth quite the bit of money which is why is he putting this precious stone up for auction? Because he owes quite a bit of money to some very not nice people because aside from running a jewelry store, balancing seeing his family and having an affair, Howard has a serious gambling problem. When a high-profile basketball player, Kevin Garnett, is brought into the shop by LaKeith Stanfield. Garnett feels a connection with the rock, Howard agrees to let Garnett borrow the rock for a game then the problem comes trying to get it back in time for the auctions as he is running out of time trying to hold off the money collectors. As collateral from Kevin Garnett to hold the rock he takes one of his player rings, instead of you know just  putting ring in the safe for safe keeping Howard has to take it and pawn so he can use the money to place another high value bet. Now to get the Opals back he will have to remember to go get Kevin Garnett’s ring back from pawn on top of everything else he has going on in life. There is not a lot of real substance to the plot when you actually delve deep into it except following around the MacGuffin (Opals) and watching the downward spiral of Howard and how he feels nothing is going right for him even though most of the problems stem from bad decisions. While it’s a simplistic story, it is a well-done glimpse into an addiction that is not alcoholic or drug based, as so many movies are, showing the repercussions of it affects many things from family life to his own business. The star of the show is hands down by far Adam Sandler who gives a career high performance, it is clear the Safdie brothers, the directors of this film, pushed him to his limits to get this performance out of Sandler. If you follow my blog, you will know I am a huge fan of independent films especially those produced by A24 because they make movies that toe over that line that studios will not tread. It is a dark movie and will not be for everyone, though I highly recommend watching it even if nothing else for Sandler’s performance. A.