SANDLER SPARKLES IN ANXIETY-FEST ‘UNCUT GEMS’
Compulsive gambler makes some bad bets in hectic crime drama
On paper, the character of Howard Ratner, a New York City jeweler of wayward moral and decision-making instincts, does not seem to be the kind of guy with whom most people would want to spend time.
Even on a movie screen — where your exposure to him is limited to a couple of hours or so, and the obnoxiousness of the character is tempered by the
Rating: R
When: Now playing undeniable charisma of actor Adam Sandler — “Uncut Gems” is a pressure cooker of a movie. For most of its duration, we’re invited to spend time with a wheeler-dealer and compulsive gambler who seems to perpetually be having at least two simultaneous
“Uncut Gems”
Where: Wide release
Running time: conversations: one kvetching, one horse-trading, and both conducted with the speed of someone under a deadline, and at the volume level normally reserved for sporting events. 2 hours, 14 minutes ★★ 1⁄2
•
What’s new this week on disc and digital formats:
“Judy”
It’s 1968, and Judy Garland (Renee Zellweger), in dire financial straits, has taken on a residency at London’s Talk of the Town in hopes of making enough money to rejoin her children in Los Angeles. Along the way, she falls for a pianist, Mickey Deans (Finn Wittrock), who would become her fifth husband, and she struggles to keep her substance use and mental and physical health in check both onstage and off. Garland died of an accidental barbiturate overdose just a few months later. Zellweger gives an absolutely mesmerizing performance, completely losing herself in Garland’s voice, mannerisms and the tiniest of facial expressions (not to mention the powerhouse singing). And the film, with a serviceable story and fine supporting characters (including the matter-of-fact Jessie Buckley as
•
Garland’s handler), largely gets out of her way. “Zellweger is a force of nature onstage, but she finds the softness and sweetness in the fragile Judy, her wry humor and loving nature,” wrote Tribune News Service critic Katie Walsh in her review. “We witness these moments in the hushed exclamation of ‘oh that’s good,’ over a bite of cake she allows herself, out of politeness to her hosts, and in a shy invitation to dinner to a couple of fans waiting for her after her show, the only folks in London happy for her company. It’s a nuanced, complex, nakedly emotional performance that digs into the darkest psychology of one of our most beloved stars, and demands that, even in her lowest moments, we could never count Judy Garland out. The same goes for Renée Zellweger.”