Uncut Gems (2019)

 

A while ago I've seen "Good Time", written and directed by the same Safdie brothers as "Uncut Gems" is. It seemed terribly overrated and so fit to a narrow niche, that I was convinced another movie by the same guys can't be much different.

I wasn't wrong. "Uncut Gems" is likewise annoyingly hysterical from beginning to its end, featuring the same type of a main character - an unscrupulous guy struggling to solve a problem by creating another one. The character in "Uncut Gems" is a loud jeweler from New York, addicted to gambling, probably the role of a lifetime made by Adam Sandler, way above any acting he did in the usual light comedies he played in. The movie is tracking some days of his unhappy life, being constantly chased by loan sharks, and trying to get back on his feet by auctioning an uncut gemstone, all these while he can't withold from placing more bets. The action is quite dense, catching also a glimpse of his family issues, the unorthodox collaboration with a forger, and other stuff. Unfortunately the movie is also too dense in screaming, almost any dialog ending in some conflict. At some point, as I was saying, it gets annoying and also tiring at the same time. 

It's not a spoiler to say that the story doesn't end well. It becomes so obvious that the guy gets from worse to much worse that the only unknown is how much worse it will get. And here, the ending is clearly better than "Good Time". In all this descending spiral, you feel at some time that there are exits, but each one is missed. The final one is the cherry on top. I think I had like three possible versions, none good, which crossed my mind during the last 15 minutes, which again try to deceive you with some glimpse of a light at the end of the tunnel. But I had the surprise of a different closure. I guess the only possible one able to save the movie, which I can't say I liked. However, the ending is forcing me to be objective and I also can't say it's a bad film. Now... I really shouldn't spoil more of this part. It's just something like probably would be the feeling when a neighbor drilled holes in the walls for an entire day and he gets a power cut. It's a sudden "silence", a short lived one that doesn't give much time to reflect on it. But you get a "L'Amour Toujours" on the end credits to complete it in case you need anything else. It never crossed my mind to listen carefully to the lyrics of this song until watching "Uncut Gems".

Rating: 3.5 out of 5