5 Reasons to watch Uncut Gems on Netflix
The Adam Sandler driven crime drama Uncut Gems will finally be released on Netflix on May 25. The flick takes anxiety inducing filmmaking to a whole different level, telling a strange but compelling narrative of Howard Ratner, a gambling addicted jeweler in the diamond district of NYC with an infatuation with a rare Ethiopian black opal. The Jewish mob, soaring synths, and Kevin Garnett’s acting are just a handful of things one has to look forward to with Uncut Gems, but there are countless others as well. So, whether it’s your first time catching the Safdie Brothers’ brilliant film or you’re a repeat viewer, here are just five things that make Uncut Gems more than worth your time.
5. The Score
The synth compositions made for Uncut Gems by Daniel Lopatin (aka Oneohtrix Point Never) fall somewhere between those of Blade Runner and A Clockwork Orange, creating a surrealist atmosphere that truly elevates the film and furthers its unique aesthetic. While a completely synth/electronic soundtrack for a crime-thriller film may seem unfitting at first, this is no ordinary crime-thriller and thus deserves the distinctive musical score it received. The synths are almost classical in nature, utilizing synthesized Baroque like choirs and bombastic electronic orchestras that would be fitting for some kind of neon infused Ben-Hur remake. The larger than life music almost dignifies Howard and his shifty lifestyle and gives everything he does in the film more weight.
4. Kevin Garnett and the 2012 NBA season
If you’re a basketball fan, you’re in luck! The directors of Uncut Gems (the Safdie Brothers) are also avid followers of the NBA, as made apparent by this film. The Safdie’s actually wrote this film in order to incorporate an NBA star in the cast, initially looking at former New York Knicks player Amar’e Stoudemire for the role. When he couldn’t do it, they rewrote the screenplay a number of times for different players including Joel Embiid and the late Kobe Bryant, but eventually found Kevin Garnett to be best for the film. What’s great about Uncut Gems is that it utilizes real games from the 2012 Eastern Conference Semifinals when Garnett actually played on the Boston Celtics, weaving their outcomes and Garnett’s performances in those games into the narrative of the movie. The gambling addicted Howard makes some of the most insane bets on real games from the 2012 NBA season that ground the film in its realism and creates some of the most tense moments in the film.
3. Cinematography
The way the Safdie’s move the camera in Uncut Gems is fascinating. The frequent use of closeups forces the audience to really delve into the performances of the whole cast and feel what the characters are emoting. As the star of the film, Sandler in particular gets a fair amount of closeups that forces his acting to be bulletproof, as there is little to hide behind when his face is almost the only thing on the screen at times.
The chaotic filmmaking methods that the directors use to create utter mayhem from time to time (which will be looked at more in depth later) include the simultaneous use of quick cuts and frustratingly floaty camera movements. These two contrasting styles within the same sequences only compliment the havoc as it shows us too much information to handle in one moment, followed by something like a slow camera pan that doesn’t give us enough information in the next moment. In this way, the filmmakers prove they have complete control over what appears to be total disorganization to the audience.
2. The Safdie Brothers
As relatively fresh faces in the world of filmmaking, the Safdie Brothers are already making waves with their unique style. Their 2017 film, Good Time, gave the duo their first taste of more mainstream critical acclaim as the movie was praised at the 2017 Cannes Film Festival. Uncut Gems is their follow up to Good Time and it has only increased their credit as some of the hottest new filmmakers in the independent scene. Their style of creating anxiety inducing mayhem through introducing a bunch of problems at the same time, having characters talking over each other in rapid succession, and refusing to focus on one thing at a time makes their work an experience to behold. Their taste for creating realistic stories and characters that feel very grounded in their worlds only furthers the emotional edge of their narratives. As an audience, we feel it when a character is rising up and succeeding but when there is tragedy, it is a punch to the gut. The Safdies give their viewers an unromantic movie going experience that is at times, all too real (in a good way).
- Adam Sandler / The Cast
Woah! An Adam Sandler movie that isn’t a (bad) comedy! This isn’t even a comedy at all! What kind of alternate reality is this?! I know you may be thinking, ‘Wait, Adam Sandler in a serious acting role? Really?’ But yes really! He’s great in Uncut Gems, giving one of the best performances of 2019 and proving that the guy has way more acting chops than the last fifteen years of his career would have you believe. If you haven’t already checked out P.T. Anderson’s Punch Drunk Love from 2002, you wouldn’t know that Adam Sandler can actually be a great actor when he tries to be. His performance in that movie seemed like a strange one-off that hasn’t been replicated until now. The comedians portrayal of Howard is hilarious, annoying, dubious, delusional, and totally captivating in Uncut Gems and despite all of the character’s flaws, we can’t help but root for him throughout the film, all thanks to Adam Sandler.
The supporting cast is great as well. As Julia Fox’s debut performance, she does an amazing job as Howard’s mistress, acting on the surface as a stereotypical loud-mouthed New York girl, but carrying subtleties that round out her character as slightly insane and ultimately loveable. Also, it turns out that Kevin Garnett is actually a solid actor and holds his own in the film even if he’s just playing himself. Lakeith Stanfield is also brilliant as Demany, showing that he is an up and comer that will be around for the long haul. Uncut Gems only adds to his recent great performances in films like Get Out, Sorry to Bother You, and Knives Out, all of which have shown a different side of his acting abilities.
Although the lead character is a white guy, it is nice to see a Jewish narrative that doesn’t revolve around World War II and breaks away from many stereotypical portrayals of Jewish people in mainstream filmmaking. Each character is also uniquely portrayed in the script away from their stereotypes which is nice to see. As previously mentioned, Julia appears to be a stereotype but the nuances she adds in her performance flesh out her character which makes her that much more captivating. It would have been nice to see more of Demany as Lakeith Stanfield is a great actor, but I suppose there is something to be said about keeping his character somewhat mysterious. Either way, pretty much everyone does a great job in the film and they all seem to really belong in the world of Uncut Gems.
Uncut Gems is great and if you have a Netflix subscription and a two hour gap in your schedule, it’s a truly unique viewing experience.
