Every interaction and story beat is so real and logical that it immerses you into the world of Ratner and doesn’t let you go even if you want to. But when you do notice it, it will certainly enrich your viewing experience. However, that’s a tale as old as time, right? So, why is it so interesting? That’s because of the Safdie Brothers and Bronstein’s intense character work that doesn’t resort to exposition and is realistic AF! I mean, while watching it, you likely won’t realise that there’s not a single line of dialogue which is exposition for the sake of exposition something that is actually very rare in movies nowadays. The deeper you go into your own web of lies and deceit just because you have a hunch that you’ll win at the end, the harder it will be to get out of it. And in doing so the writers present a cautionary tale about when you need to say ‘no’. He chooses to show off this cheap deal he has cracked for his opal when he could’ve just sent it for auction and gotten a sizable price for it. He chooses to do business with his family, which is a serious no-no in any given situation. But he chooses to have a girlfriend, which everyone knows will jeopardise the relationship with his wife sooner or later. Ratner has a stable enough life, a family, and a decent recognition in his business. But on a deeper dissection, it is revealed that the narrative is a commentary on how we complicate things when there is no need to complicate it. It basically is about a gambler trying to pay off his debt. But I also believe that that’s how the script for a Safdie Brothers movie works. I think that feels like an oversimplification of what is going on in the movie. And that and many other gambles taken by Ratner puts him in loads of trouble. But that’s taken away by Garnett, the Boston Celtics player, because he thinks it will bring him good luck. He believes that he can do it by auctioning the opal. We then meet Ratner who is a fast-talking jeweler who is nose-deep in debt and is trying to move the little money he has from one place to another so that he doesn’t have to give it back to the person he owes it to i.e. Among them, two miners use this distraction to get into the mine and steal a rock, the uncut gem, that Ratner has ordered. The movie opens in an Ethiopian mine where a miner has suffered a devastating accident and everyone over there has gathered to tend to his wounds. The Safdie brothers' and Ronald Bronstein's script is to die for! However, his habit of gambling takes him down a hell-hole that doesn’t have the happiest of endings for him. Ratner plans to auction it off so that he can earn a shit-ton of money and pay off his debts. He comes across a Jewish opal which probably has some supernatural powers and bestows its owner with the ability to succeed in their endeavours. The story revolves around Sandler's Howard Ratner who is a Jewish-American Diamond District jeweler who is addicted to gambling. The cast consists of Adam Sandler, Lakeith Stanfield, Julia Fox, Kevin Garnett, Idina Menzel, and Eric Bogosian. The score is by Daniel Lopatin, the cinematography is by Darius Khondji, and the editing is by Bronstein and Benny Safdie. It is written by the Safdie Brothers and Ronald Bronstein. Uncut Gems is directed by the Safdie Brothers. What I can do is blame the Academy for not recognising Uncut Gems via the nominations after the heaps of praise it has received since its release and will continue to receive after its Netflix release. So, you can't exactly blame them when they weren’t quite optimistic about his collaboration with the Safdie Brothers. However, he has trashed people’s belief in him with stuff like Murder Mystery, The Week Of, The Ridiculous 6, Sandy Wexler, The Do-Over etc. He has ruled the 2000s with a string of comedy films. He has given commendable performances in the Noah Baumbach directed The Meyerowitz Stories and Paul Thomas Anderson’s Punch-Drunk Love. You don’t expect a lot from Adam Sandler movies and that’s mostly his fault. And just when you’ll think that the rollercoaster ride is over, Adam Sandler and the rest of the cast will just bring you to the edge of your seat all over again. Daniel Lopatin’s score and Darius Khondji’s cinematography will draw you deeper and deeper into the dirty crevices of New York. The Safdie Brothers’ much-anticipated follow-up to Good Time is a bunch of anxiety induced panic attacks rolled into one crisply written and directed film.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |