As news of a new Adam Sandler movie came around, many were expecting the classic Sandler quirky comedy which he is oh so famous for. But, Sandler was going for a new role in this film as he portrays Howard Mattner, a debt ridden, gambling addicted, jewelry shop owner whose life is falling apart and has no one to blame other than himself. 

This film, in all technicality, is good. Sandler’s performance is nothing short of incredible and undoubtedly the highlight of his career. The cinematography is gritty and raw; the camera shakes as if being filmed like a documentary and adds an element of realness to the film.

The direction of the film is, again, great. The loud overlapping voices and constant chaos in the world around Howard allows the viewer to understand the instability of the main character’s life, and the score is creatively different, adding an element of unique surrealism to the film’s harsh reality. 

Like I said, this film, in all technicality, is good, lacking in nothing other than a coherent storyline. 

The film is two hours and fifteen minutes long and opens with Howard being beat up by collectors working for Howard’s uncle, to whom he owes $100,000. After being beaten, Howard promptly attempts to make a business deal with famous basketball player KJ Apka. 

While Howard attempts to sell KJ a bejeweled Furby, a package comes; the audience sees Howard unwrap an ‘uncut gem’ that he claims to be worth at least a million dollars. Yet, as KJ views the gem, he immediately becomes enamored and attempts to buy the gem that day; Howard refuses, saying he had already entered it into an auction, but he would be happy to let KJ borrow the gem for at least one night. 

This whole scene happens within the first fifteen minutes of the movie, and the subsequent two hours are a stressful compilation of events wherein Howard attempts to get back the gem, avoid the debt collectors while continuing to place bets, and demolish his family life. 

The first two hours of Uncut Gems is basically a competition to see how many times Howard can realistically mess up, and the last fifteen minutes is where the film finally becomes interesting.

As Howard places a risky bet, the audience is on the edge of their seats as we get to experience the gamblers high along with Howard, and just as the audience thinks that something has finally, finally, gone right for the character (which we’ve just begun to begrudgingly appreciate), the jaw-dropping final scene occurs and leaves the entire audience shocked. 

This is a film that I would definitely not recommend for families and definitely not for a couples date night. However, if you are alone or with friends and looking for a movie to thoroughly frustrate and shock you, Uncut Gems is a respectable movie to add to your film repertoire.