Josh e Benny Safdie
Diamanti Grezzi

THE REVIEW

Uncut Gems is a 2019 film directed by Josh and Benny Safdie, two young independent American directors of Syrian descent, in their second feature film after the intriguing Good Time (2017).

New York: Howard Ratner is of Jewish descent, a compulsive gambler, frenetic, self-destructive, always pushing the pedal to the metal in his fucking life. Gamble here, take a risk there, buy, buy more, pawn and bet and play play play. The amount of money passing through his hands is equal to the debt he needs to settle left and right, and his creditors are most unsavory folks... he comes into possession of an “uncut gem,” an opal, a raw diamond that seems worth a ton of money, finally enabling him to clear his debts and take control of his life, but time is running out...

This is the plot of a magnificent film with a devilish rhythm, lacking a true storyline but simply focused on the adventures that Howard (a spectacular Adam Sandler) embarks upon to complete his mission, pay his debts, and eventually become rich... and everything revolves around the opal, the balance point.

The nervous direction, the dense and overlapping dialogues, the profanity, the hysteria, the handheld camera, the creamy cinematography, all in service to Howard, a frenetic devil who cannot find peace as he juggles between the mobsters, his family, his lover, and his job without a moment’s rest.

An anxiety-inducing film that never relaxes, but instead builds up to a long (and insane) adrenaline-filled finale.

...many Jews die of colon cancer... but weren't we supposed to be the chosen ones?