Let's bet on this.
Howard (Adam Sandler) is a shifty New York jeweler who spend a lot of time placing bets, sometimes with money he doesn't have. When he gets his hands on a rare Opal that catches the eye of Kevin Garnett (playing a version of himself) he makes the biggest gamble of his life.
This movie gave me so much anxiety. Howard makes so many awful choices and everyone is constantly yelling that it's just ~a lot~ to deal with in a two hour film. At one point about half way through the film, I thought to myself "Someone should probably just kill him now, because it's never going to stop." We get a bit of respite at one point, then when Howard makes another bet I could hear several people in the theater shifting in their seats again. I think we were all in physical pain.
If you don't mind being on the edge of your seat for a long period of time, Uncut Gems is a solid second effort from the Safdie brothers, and a stronger outing than their last film, Good Time. It has a quick pace for most of the film and the score is very interesting and enhances the film well.
Adam Sandler was an actor I loved as a kid. His humor worked for me, as an adult, the only performances of his I can say that I still like are Punch Drunk Love and Spanglish. Until this film, I don't think I have ever said "I'm excited to see an Adam Sandler performance." The pay off is wonderful, because he's excellent here. This is probably his greatest performance of all time. He also has a very strong cast of supporting characters. LaKeith Stanfield is always reliable, and Julia Fox playing his way too young for him girlfriend was also a standout. Kevin Garnett coming in and playing himself was very surprising. He's not wooden at all and I really enjoyed his performance.
Uncut Gems isn't perfect. For all the distress is causes, there were parts of the film that I felt could've been trimmed a bit. It also gets very repetitive. But I think this film is worth your time for Sandler's performance alone.
Recommended: Yes
Grade: B-
Memorable Quote: "Holy shit, I'm gonna come." - Howard (Adam Sandler)