Alex Creighton, Senior
Normally, a compulsive gambler’s assurance is their money, but when you meet Howard Ratner, your business, your family, your wife, your dignity, and your life is your assurance. In the newest Adam Sandler movie, Uncut Gems, we have a very active paced walkthrough of the diamond district in Manhattan, New York, where we enter the world of Howard Ratner, which is filled with anxiety, broken promises, a one of a kind smile, and greedy fueled debts to repay.
Directors Josh and Benny Safdie tackle the lifestyle of the diamond district while giving us a very captivating timeline of Howard’s life as it plays out for an extended amount of time. The camera is continually moving and rarely stops in this film, which gives us the intense feeling of anxiety as we witness Howard make endless bets with other people’s assurance to score the big win in the end. Howard’s goal was simple - he bought an uncut Opal rock and wants to double his profit. With his connections, he gets Kevin Garnett (Former NBA Champion & All Star) into his store, where they make a threatening trade which leads to this captivating story. This A24 film is filled with an atmospheric experience as they display very enjoyable visuals full of vibrant colors and spaced out sounds to keep you hooked into the life of Howard Ratner.
There should be much praise given to Adam Sandler for stepping out of his comedic comfort to deliver the slick-talking person that is always looking for large and fast cash. Sandler loses a lot of his normal self to this role, where he displayed the charismatic comedy we know and love. This new Adam Sandler we experienced will only reveal new possibilities to what he is capable of in his future movies. Uncut Gems scores an 9/10 for me, an enjoyable thriller with problems of plenty for gambler, Howard Ratner. Uncut Gems was Rated R for pervasive strong language, violence, some sexual content and brief drug use, so not an ideal family movie, but a great movie for yourself and friends.
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