Inside the Whirlwind of Uncut Gems

A couple of days ago i’m walking home and I get a text from my best friend: “Uncut Gems just leaked”. So before I begin, I have to put this out there. I’m one of the people that love and believe in cinema, It’s all over the way I dress, the way I speak, how I act… I am also one of the people that complain about the lack of movies shown in the big screen because i’d like my money to be spent showing support to films that I love. So to end this disclaimer: Yes, I watched the leak and i will go to a theatre and gladly spend my money watching it again. But knowing Italy, it’ll probably make its way directly to Netflix at some point after its US wide theatrical release on Christmas day.

Howard Ratner is a New York Diamond District jeweler, a degenerate gambler and a perpetual fuck up, He purchases an Opal from Ethiopia hoping to flip it in auction and “hit big”. We accompany him throughout the journey of trying to sell the gem, losing and trying to recover it. A journey that includes, bookies, loan sharks, and the occasional beat down. All of this is wrapped within the rapid and borderline neurotic style of Josh and Benny Safdie. And what i mean by that is, this is the most stressful movie experience i’ve had since i sat through Avengers after what i thought was a heart attack (true story).

The film is animated and loud, everyone talks over each other, and everyone is yelling to try and get their point across. This organized chaos gives the film a sense of authenticity as none of it feels scripted. In a similar vein, The Safdie brothers populated its scenes with non-actors, whether that’s for the background or more prominent roles like the guys that play a loan shark’s muscle, they were not actually professional actors and didn’t know they shouldn’t actually hit Sandler during a scene; personally I loved their performances and it was a brilliant decision by the Directors. The Safdie brother’s research is second to none, they shined light to NYC’s diamond district and portrayed it with love and appreciation, and they did so by getting people who actually work at there to play themselves, again, this made the entire thing feel like you’re actually there, it felt so “lived in”, nothing was clean and polished like some movies choose to do, offices were messy, people saying hello as Howard walked around, the exchanges he makes and the interactions, all of it looked like something you would see if you walked into one of those stores. When he goes to pawn a ring, he is told that the rate has went up since the week prior and when he accepts he is asked about his well being by the same guy who upped the rate. Business is business but there’s still human relationships that keep that world together and Uncut Gems does an incredible job highlighting them.

This might be Sandler’s best performance to date; Punch-Drunk Love was a beautiful heartfelt performance and I always go back to it when arguing and defending his actor prowess, but this takes the cake. Sandler disappeared into Howie with all his quirks, and flaws, but what truly makes this performance is the fact that Sandler still gets you to care and to be emotionally invested in the character which was essential to make Uncut Gems as gripping as it is. Howard makes mistakes, on paper he’s an asshole and a scumbag of a human, he cheats on his wife, he pawns one thing to pay for another and most of the time things are not even his to pawn, and all he cares about is the next bet, but you can’t get yourself to hate him. Hating Howard is difficult because you feel sorry for him, you even root for him; and at the end of the day some of us even see ourselves in him. We sympathize because some of us have been there. Every decision you make digs a deeper hole than the one you’re already in and you’re just trying to claw a way out. The entire picture is Howard figuring out how to get out; except Howard doesn’t know when to quit and always succumbs to the impulse that screwed him in the first place. Things aren’t always gonna go right in life, and no matter how optimistic you choose to be, your decisions catch up to you in one way or another and i guess this is one of the film’s lessons.

Another part of the film that should be commended is the score. Daniel Lopatin did an excellent job at capturing the opal’s mystic capabilities that Kevin Garnett gets obsessed using exuberant synths. It encapsulates the intensity, and fast pace of the film using frantic percussions that make the perfect soundtrack to the ridiculous ride that is Uncut Gems. NYC is present throughout the film with its rich noises, and Daniel encorporated that into the score. Every important moment in the film has a specific piece of music attached to it, a sonic theme per say, and it’s the glue that brings all the elements together in perfect…disarray. Everything is all over the place to mirror its main character, after all, it’s all his doing and the music offers valuable insight into what he’s feeling and thinking throughout the journey, making the viewer experience much more enjoyable.

Howard Ratner can throw a fit off. And it’s a big reason behind the attention that film got before it was even finished. Sandler was spotted in a leather jacket, a mustard shirt with a black collar, dress pants and Ferragamo shoes with a matching belt. A look soon to be iconic when everyone watches this film.

Fashion and jewelry enthusiasts both will appreciate the attention to detail in the Film. Vogue adequately calls it “Schmuck fashion”, but uncut gems made it resonate with people who wouldn’t be caught dead in that outfit yet they appreciate it for what it is, a unique expression of someone’s style. The wardrobe in this film does an excellent job emphasizing the type of person Howard is. A diamond Star of David ring, a 20 thousand dollar rolex, an NBA championship ring and gold cartier frames. It’s all part of the “look the part, be the part” that’s required in his world, yet it also frames him ever so perfectly the more you watch the movie. The outfits were inspired by actual people in the diamond district. Mordechai Rubinstein was brought in to consult on wardrobe; a stylist and photographer of jewish origin that is obsessed with New York City Style, his instagram @mistermort is full of outfits from regular New Yorkers. He walks around the city looking for “moments” as he calls them; someone wearing something special, a pattern, a layer, a vest, pearls… the list goes on, but when a passionate individual that is familiar with the subject matter is brought into a project, you get the one thing the entire picture is built on: authenticity. I am aware I overused the word quite a lot in this article but it was for good measure.

The events occur during the 2012 playoffs, a memorable moment in NBA history, they had Kevin Garnett play himself; which resulted in an amazing performance i should add. A younger Weeknd also makes an appearance during one of his 1st US tours. Elements like these add to the world building that the Safdies mastered, it feels like a proper peek into 2012 New York where nothing feels out of place, things are exaggerated when they need to be and then brought back down to earth for the proper dramatic effect. Ups and downs are the theme and your emotions will get masterfully played with, but it all is worth it once the credits roll up.

I was excited from the moment I saw the trailer, and in serendipitous fashion, I was not disappointed for once. So, I encourage everyone of you to go watch it on a big screen if they can because it’s simply masterful cinema. A beautiful moment, 10 years in the making, where everything comes together perfectly to create one of the best films of the year.