Uncut Gems is as close as we get to the neo-noir crime jewels of the 1970s.
There are hints of Toback's Fingers (1978) and Schrader Hardcore (1979) in the gritty, palpably sleazy New York reality that the Sadfie Brothers brilliantly update to the present day. Even Sandler's wardrobe reminds us of Pacino in his heyday. Darius Khondji's cinematography is as sharp and glossy as the plot-driving black opal stone. It is a world of surface shine, where materiality dominates and drives all emotion.
Sandler finds a perfect tone to his performance – he keeps his boiling point low, his eyes always angling for a way out. He is an operator trying to make his mark – a small man with large ambitions. For many viewers Sandler's screen appeal is a mystery – but I always find a level of deeply wounded sensitivity in his work, even in Zohan. Curiously, there is something about Sandler's clenched jaw, the shifty stare and the overall bearing in this film that reminded me of John Torturro.
Some viewers will find Uncut Gems an empty exercise in style and its protagonists rather shallow and unpleasant, but it is still probably the most cinematically accomplished film of 2019. You will marvel at the climactic confrontation scene inside the jeweller's store: the tension is so intense, so palpable, you can cut it with a diamond.
The supporting cast is phenomenal, but it is Eric Bogosian, whose uncharacteristically withdrawn performance gives it real gravitas.
In my book, not 5 stars, but a very solid 4 plus.
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