Superb Sandler is on his finest form Unbridled energy and insane twists
Adam Sandler can act! To be fair, maybe I’m being a bit harsh with that opening gambit.
While most of the Brooklyn-born star’s output ranges from half-decent to terrible, The Wedding Singer remains one of my favourite rom-coms — and he has proved before he can do serious well in 2002’s Punch Drunk Love.
Uncut Gems sees Sandler’s New York jewellery salesman Howard Ratner sucked into a world of crime to tackle mounting debts and angry collectors.
Don’t go in anticipating Ocean’s Eleven-style capers, heists and hijinks; brothers Benny and Josh Safdie have instead come up with a breathless journey through frenzy, exhilaration and panic that breezes through a twohour-plus run time.
It’s a showcase for Sandler that doesn’t completely diminish his familiar traits — there’s still fast-talking and rambunctious rants.
But this is a Sandler with soul; you feel the internal or external impact of every decision he makes and he manages to make an essentially odious human being likeable.
With its unbridled energy, insane twists and turns and larger-than-life characters, The Safdies’ film evokes memories of early Guy Ritchie — before Hollywood and bigger budgets came calling.
The same thing might happen with them, though, as their ability to wring tension out of nearly every scene will surely catch the eye of big studio power players in the future.
Even their camera work is constantly on edge, as if they are worried the police may show up at any second to shut the whole production down; watching this on a smaller screen actually adds to its impact.
Newcomer Julia Fox does some great work with a small-but-important turn and former NBA basketball player Kevin Garnett, playing himself, proves not every sporting star cameo sinks to David Beckham in King Arthur: Legend of the Sword levels of horror.
Special mention must also go to Daniel Lopatin’s thumping electro score — we really are living in an era of top notch movie soundtracks at this present time.
The Safdie brothers’ and Ronald
Bronstein’s story keeps you on the edge of your seat — or bed — and you never know in which direction developments are going to turn.
Uncut Gems is a real diamond in the rough within Sandler’s CV.
●What are your thoughts? Is Uncut Gems worth firing up Netflix for? Can Sandler do serious? Do you have any shows or movies to recommend people watch?
Pop me an email at ian.bunting@ reachplc.com and I will pass on your comments and recommendations to your fellow readers.