I eventually got round to watching Uncut Gems on Netflix the other night and man, what a movie! This is a movie starring Adam Sandler, but it is not an Adam Sandler movie…if you get what I am saying. I am someone that has loved the majority of Adam Sandler’s movies over the years and always gets a chuckle out of them.
How to Stream or Download Uncut Gems
You can stream it or you can download the film from a digital store or perhaps stream/download it using the Netflix app. Click on the Download button at the end of the review.
The Movie Review
Many people (and I am guilty of this too) think of him as purely a comedy act. However, movies like Uncut Gems here and the heartbreaking Reign Over Me, show that Adam Sandler is a fantastic and talented dramatic actor as well. Directed by Josh Safdie and Benny Safdie who also share the writing credit with Ronald Bronstein, deliver a truly captivating movie from start to end.
So, what is the movie about? We have Adam Sandler who plays the role of Howard, he is a jeweler in the diamond district of New York and he also happens to be a gambling addict. There is a great supporting cast around Sandler and I was surprised to see NBA star Kevin Garnett playing himself which was a lot of fun.
Howard has this very rare opal that is worth a great deal of money. The thing is, Howard owes a lot of money to some less than nice people due to his gambling addiction. Howard has this thing where he pawns things that are not his to get money, which he then uses to gamble. It is a very dangerous game and it has finally caught up to him.
As is the case with any gambling addict, things get out of hand. His way out is this very expensive and rare opal that if he can get it back, can get him out of the trouble that he has gotten himself into. What we have is a movie that feels like it is a race against time for Howard as he tries to avoid those that want their money back and also his quest to get the opal to get these same folks off his back.
Now, Howard on paper is a bit of s dirtbag. The way he plays with other people’s money and has no regard really for anyone but himself should make him unlikeable. However, due to the performance of Adam Sandler and the excellent writing, you want to see him get out of it, even though he got himself into this situation. The movie really humanizes a guy that most of us would want to stay away from.
I really do not want to go into the plot anymore as it is a real roller coaster of a movie. It grabs you from the very start and you are left wondering if Howard is going to get out of it, all the way up until the very end. While if things went bad, it would 100 percent be his own fault, you still feel for the guy. Be sure to give this a watch, Netflix actually has the rights to it now so you can check it out on there.
