Adam Sandler pulls out Oscar-worthy performance in Uncut Gems
How great is Adam Sandler in Uncut Gems? Robbed-of-an-Oscar- nomination great. The rare calibre of self-destructive authenticity he brings to his role is almost enough to forgive the serial screen stinker for his recent string of comedy flops.
Leigh Paatsch
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Let’s kick things off with the three shock takeaways from Uncut Gems.
Shock #1: Serial screen-stinker-upperer Adam Sandler is actually good in this movie.
Shock #2: Good is an understatement. Adam Sandler is actually great in this movie.
Shock #3: How great is Adam Sandler in this movie? Robbed-of-an-Oscar-nomination great. (Yes, we’re looking at you in particular, Jonathan Pryce of The Two Popes.)
That’s right. After a seeming eternity spent raking up squillions in a netherworld of numbskulled, straight-to-streaming comedies, Sandler delivers the dramatic performance of his life in Uncut Gems.
Speaking of shocks, that is close to the best descriptor of the impact Uncut Gems will have on unprepared or unsuspecting viewers.
This nervy, sweaty and relentlessly moving affair does not so much build tension as conduct it like electricity.
Get too close – too involved, too curious, too invested – and it is bound to zap you out of your chair.
And it is Sandler’s wilfully inspired acting that will keep you drawing you in, even when every sense is telling to push back and keep your distance.
Sandler plays Howard Ratner, a former jeweller to the stars who is nowadays working full-time as a threat to himself.
While Howard still pushes bling from a tiny storefront in a building in New York’s sparkly-rock precinct, most of the business he conducts has nothing to do with the buying and selling of product.
As a compulsive gambler, Howard’s fortunes fluctuate wildly on a daily basis. When we first meet him, Howard is in debt to a local loan shark for one hundred thousand big ones.
A few days later, a crazily speculative wager on the Boston Celtics basketball team hauls Howard out of the hole. The next day, Howard is in the red all over again.
A six-figure habit like Howard’s needs a seven-figure solution fast. His wife (Idina Menzel) wants a divorce. His mistress (Julia Fox) wants a commitment. His children want a father.
Howard just wants to look over his shoulder and not see a hired heavy staring right back at him.
This is not an easy movie experience to make it through, such is the rare calibre of self-destructive authenticity Sandler brings to such a difficult role.
Equally impacting is the street-smart writing and direction of filmmaking brothers Benny and Josh Safdie, and the mesmerising cinematography of Darius Khondji.
UNCUT GEMS (MA15+)
Directors: Benny and Josh Safdie
Starring: Adam Sandler, Idina Menzel, Julia Fox, Kevin Garnett.
Rating: ****
A man of rocks desperate to get on a roll
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