Uncut Gems

Last week was the Academy Awards. A night where The Academy crowned Parasite this year’s Best Picture. It was the first time a non-English speaking movie had been bestowed the honour. Given it was the 92^nd ceremony, many felt it was about time; that the jury shouldn’t so much be patting themselves on the back, as embarrassingly reflecting on what took them so long. Otherwise, there was a feeling, particularly in the male category, the nominations and victories followed the status quo. This copy and paste approach to selection threw up few surprises and shocks; you could argue it’s a sign of consistency: DiCaprio, Hanks, Pitt and Hopkins are good in almost everything. In celebrating Hollywood royalty though, they made one big omission: the jester.


Enter Adam Sandler. The stand-up turned actor. He is the People’s Champion. His Netflix films generate more views than any other actor. Murder Mystery, his film with Jennifer Anniston, was reportedly watched by 73 million. Originally, he was signed up by the streaming service on a four-movie $250 million deal - they've since renwed this. Despite being loved by the public, he’s abhorred by the critics. It’s easy to see why. Here are some of his films with synopses to go with them: Ridiculous 6, a spoof of Magnificent Seven, where Sandler plays an orphan raised by Native Americans. The Cobbler where Sandler plays a shoemaker that can step into the shoes of his customers and become them. And The Week Of, which follows two opposing fathers, forced to spend a week with one another in the run up to a wedding – critics joked it was more of an art installation piece with the characters’ feeling of confinement mirrored in the audiences.

In some circles Sandler is the rampant capitalist, eschewing art in favour of commerce, a parasite that feeds off the consumer to make his pockets larger. He is less an actor, more an algorithm, providing what people with what they want, as opposed to what they might need. For others, he is a meditational tape: someone you’ll switch off with and maybe even fall asleep to. Is he part of the cure or the disease?


The main reason why critics such as Mark Kermode get so angry with Sandler is because of Punch- Drunk Love. The 2003 Paul Thomas Anderson film saw Sandler go against type in an art-house romantic black comedy. His trademark was still there. The goofy guy trying and failing to contain volcanic rage. Yet here, it was more nuanced, moving and vulnerable. It was a character you could meet at work, not the stuff of popcorn construct. The pay-off where Sandler confronts a bully (I have so much strength in me you have no idea. I have a love in my life that makes me stronger than anything you can ever imagine. I would say ‘That’s that’ Mattress Man.) is one of the most gorgeous things committed to cinema. For reviewers, the performance came out of nowhere. For anyone familiar with stand-up, it’s less surprising: stand-up is a low status art-form that requires naturalness and candor. Dave Johns in I, Daniel Blake; Jim Carrey in Truman Show and Robin Williams in Mrs Doubtfire are comics that can show the tears of a clown.

Over fifteen years later, Sandler has turned in a performance that has the critics salivating. He plays Howard Ratner, a Diamond District jeweler addicted to gambling. The film is Uncut Gems, the sixth picture by Safdie brothers, Josh and Benny. Their last, Good Time, featured Robert Pattinson, whose performance was recognised as a career-best. From the start, they wanted Sandler to play Howard. And when I say from the start, this project has been in development from years. The District was a lure for the two men because their father worked there and told them stories about it. Off the back of Good Time, they were given the go ahead to mine his tales into a diamond of a movie.



The story starts in Ethiopia with the extraction of a black opal. Something has gone wrong in the mine and a man is carried out. The skin has been flayed, revealing the bone beneath; blood and tears weep profusely. From there the camera does something quite spell-binding. It takes us through the tunnel of the mine and comes out at the anus of Ratner. Yes, that’s right. The Safdie’s splice the imagery of a mine with a colonoscopy, juxtaposing the two and demonstrating how the channels and corridors are akin, perhaps too establishing how the hard exterior of Ratner hides something precious and pure. On paper that reads like a terribly pretentious transition; in execution, it’s rather remarkable.


After the treatment table we see Ratner at work. There’s people knocking on his door wanting money. He owes a lot – a bet has gone wrong. A shark is out for his blood. They take his $20,000 watch as a peace offering. Epiphany does not strike Ratner. He does not see gambling as his undoing, but his making. He moves money back and forth, puts jewelry down as a guarantor, all to raise money for a bet. The person he wants to get behind is Keith Garnett, a power forward for the Boston Celtics. Having lent him a precious black opal, he’s certain that it’s mystical powers will yield something truly beautiful. This isn’t a throw from the half-way line; this is a slam dunk bet, guaranteed to win big. Unfortunately it does, then doesn’t turn out that way, leaving Ratner in financial dire straits. Vultures from all sides are ready to feed on him; the only lifeblood protecting him from being a corpse is the black opal: if it scores big at auction, his life will be saved.

What’s so impressive about this film is its breathless energy. The camera doesn’t sit; it stalks. The camerawork is up close, swooping from character to character, rarely cutting. When the frames do switch, they snap. Even away from the jeweler’s there’s no break for Ratner: his brother-in-law that he owes the money to is at the Passover feast; the heavies are at his daughter’s play – there is no rest for the wicked. Like Ratner, the viewer is taken by the scruff of the neck and dragged from scene to scene, barely able to catch their breath. This tension building reminded me of the first season of Homeland or the later seasons of Breaking Bad where are heartrates were put through hell. If Sandler’s other Netflix films are a beta-blocker that induce calm, this is cocaine, liable to lead to cardiac arrest.


The supporting cast are universally excellent with Garnett, the basketball player, playing himself; and Julia Fox as Julia in her first acting role. How the Safdie’s get such terrific performances out of such an inexperienced cast is an incredible triumph. What is most remarkable though is Sandler who holds the movie together. He may have won the Independent Spirit Award last week, but it was criminal that he wasn’t nominated for an Oscar.


Let’s just hope Sandler takes more gambles in his career because unlike his character they usually pay off.



Uncut Gems is available on Netflix now.