This jolt of pure cinematic adrenaline affirmed directors Josh and Benny Safdie as heirs to the gritty, heightened realism of Martin Scorsese and John Cassavetes. Adam Sandler delivers an almost maniacally embodied performance as Howard Ratner, a fast-talking New York jeweler and gambler in relentless pursuit of the next big score. When he comes into possession of a rare opal, it seems Howard’s ship has finally come in—as long as he can stay one step ahead of a wife (Idina Menzel) who hates him, a mistress (Julia Fox) who can’t quit him, and a frenzy of loan sharks and hit men closing in on him. Wrapping a vivid look at the old-school Jewish world of Manhattan’s Diamond District within a kinetic thriller, Uncut Gems gives us one of the great characters in modern cinema: a tragic hero of competing compulsions on a shoot-the-moon quest to transcend his destiny.
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Supplements
- Audio commentary from 2019 featuring writer-directors Josh Safdie and Benny Safdie, writer and editor Ronald Bronstein, and producer Sebastian Bear-McClard
- New interviews with cinematographer Darius Khondji, costume designer Miyako Bellizzi, production designer Sam Lisenco, and casting director Jennifer Venditti
- Documentary from 2019 on the making of the film
- Documentary from 2020 on the soundtrack
- Screen test featuring actors Adam Sandler and Julia Fox
- Goldman v. Silverman, a 2020 short film by the Safdies, featuring Sandler and Benny Safdie
- “Question & Answer”: a 2020 short film featuring the Safdies, Sandler, actor Jason Bateman, and comedy writer Megan Amram
- Deleted and extended scenes, including a full performance of “The Morning” by the Weeknd
- Trailer
- An essay by film critic J. Hoberman and a 2020 discussion of the film by the editorial staff of Jewish Currents magazine