Uncut Gems takes us for a ride: Adam Sandler gets his win

Posted on 20 June 2020
By Pierce King
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The Safdie brother’s film Uncut Gems premiered on Netflix in May and became a hit right away. The world premiere was at Telluride Film Festival in August 2019. Josh and Ben Safdie wrote the script with Ronal Bronstein.

The main character Howard Ratner is portrayed by Adam Sandler, who is surprisingly different from who we are used to seeing in his comedy films. Adam Sandler’s performance in Uncut Gems is his best work.

While the film has some funny scenes it is not a comedy, and Adam Sandler does a great job. His character is a Jewish jeweler with gambling addiction, a lot of debts, and relationship problems. The film starts with an introduction of the object that the film revolves around, a black opal. Howard Ratner gets his hands on the stone and wants to sell it. The action takes place in New York City. The film was produced by Sebastian Bear-McClard and Oscar Boyson.

Perfect synthesis of adrenaline and gaming – (beware the next paragraph contains spoilers)

Sandler’s character, Howard Ratner, a Jewish gaming addict, was inspired by a real person. Father of Safdie Brothers worked in the Diamond District when the brothers were little.

He would tell them the stories about the man named Howard, who he worked with. In an interview, Safdie brothers said that while their Howard is nothing like the real Howard, there would not be the Howard of the Uncut Gems without the real person. The world around the real person was also a source of inspiration.

The plot revolves around the character’s gaming addiction. Naturally, it always causes trouble for Howard and the people around him and finally becomes the cause of his murder. NBA star Kevin Garnet plays himself in the movie.

He seems to be winning everything after Howard lends him the opal that he got at the beginning of the film. Howard instead of paying off his debts to people who are after him decides to gamble the money that he owes. Howard’s creditors, unhappy with his decisions, kill him by the end of the film.

The environments of the film are thought through to details. Safdie brothers did a great job of creating realistic settings for this crazy story. They have a very precisely developed casino setting. Big part of the movie revolves around a casino building where Adam’s character and his assistant stay to save and win more money.

The audience is absorbed into the atmosphere of a real casino, with its poker tables, roulettes, and meanwhile gamers are playing online casino games which makes the atmosphere even more addictive. The editing between Garnet’s game and Howard Ratner waiting for the outcome shows the state that people are in while waiting for the outcome of their bets.

Uncut Gems – 6 questions we still have after watching

Here are six questions that this movie, with its plots twists and unexpected decisions, leaves the audience with. Phil and Nico basically destroy KHM and take all the jewelry after Phil shoots Howard, but whether they escape or not is still a question to be answered.

It seems like only one of them could escape and that too only if one of them would sacrifice his freedom. Julia De Fiore, portrayed by Julia Fox, receives two bags filled with cash on the backseat of a limo and leaves. But the jet that is supposed to be waiting for her in the local airport is probably not there, because Howard gets shot before he manages to book the jet.

So what does Julia do? What will Dinah’s reaction be when she finds out that Howard is dead? By the end of the film, she says she’s worried for him and considers calling the police, but their relationship is already over. What happens to the Michael Jackson crucifix necklace?

Is Howard’s father-in-law Gooey swindled out of $ 190,000? And finally the question that nobody wants to ask but everybody thinks of is whether or not the black opal is a magical stone.

New on Netflix in June 2020

Netflix will continue publishing new content or making old films and even classics available on the platform almost every day in June. Here are some of the titles that have already been published in June: Act of Valor, All Dogs Go to Heaven, Bad News Bears, Cape Fear, Casper, Cardcaptor Sakura: Clow Card, Cardcaptor Sakura: Sakura Card, Clueless, etc.

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