Watching Uncut Gems is like having an anxiety attack for two hours but in a good way.
The story follows Howard a chaotic Jewish Jeweller in New York as auctions off an uncut black opal to pay off his debts. However, Howard portrayed by Adam Sandler is a deeply unsatisfied man who lives off the highs and lows of life by making risky bets which in some cases his life depends on. He is consistently harassed by goons wanting their money from him and he takes risks steadily throughout the film.
Although I didn’t think I was going to enjoy uncut gems as much as I did due to people telling me it was slow or me just not being too interested in the synopsis, I was gripped the whole time. The performance by Sandler was one of my favourites and I personally feel it was crime he did not receive an Oscar nomination for best actor. In addition, the direction from the Sadfie Brothers and cinematography by Darius Khondji helps to add to energetic and jittery tone of the film. The cinematography is especially interesting as it has this sort of gritty 80s feel to it whilst still feeling current and modern.
*SPOILERS* Do not read on if you have not watched the film.
The final 30 minuets of the film are insane, scenes are suspenseful, and the stakes are high. All the tension that has been built up from the last hour and a half is released when Howard eventually wins the bet and releases the goons which he was previously keeping locked in his door while he watched the basketball game and in an instant one of the goons shoots Howard in the head and kills him. I think this is the only ending which would have made sense for Howard as he still would have been unsatisfied with his winnings and the cycle would have repeat itself.
Overall, I really enjoyed uncut gems and I would recommend to it anyone who wants a satisfying and suspenseful film which you would feel locked to the screen.
Through the Cam 