Uncut Gems is such a unique movie in how it has garnered its fandom & critical success. It's the first film I've watched in a long time that made me forget I was watching a film. The work put in by the Saftie brothers & Adam Sandler to make such an immersive experience should be celebrated in this day and age. Not that cinema is dead, but the films that came out that make you forget you're watching actors play out the work of a director (films like Pulp Fiction, Back to the Future) sometimes feel like films of the past.
Watching Uncut Gems is an anxiety inducing, deeply frustrating experience. But in the best way possible. I didn't see any actors on screen, especially not Adam Sandler, I saw real, grounded people. This is mainly due to the direction, the sound design, the choice to cast first time or lesser know actors, and most importantly, the career-changing performance by Sandler. His character, while seedy and frustrating, maybe even annoying, felt like an honest portrayal of a real life person, and all I wanted to do was reach through the screen and grab him, to stop him on his believable downward spiral.
As the film plays, it's atmosphere washes over you, again, as if you're watching real life. As I watched it, it didn't seem groundbreaking. Partly because it may be a little too long, but mainly down to how engrossed I was. However, by the time the final scene came around, it clicked, and I knew that I had just watched a modern day classic. A film is only as good as its final scene, and Uncut Gems could not have ended in a more perfect place, for its plot, and its character arc. Despite its simplicity, it was jaw dropping.
Watching Uncut Gems is an anxiety inducing, deeply frustrating experience. But in the best way possible. I didn't see any actors on screen, especially not Adam Sandler, I saw real, grounded people. This is mainly due to the direction, the sound design, the choice to cast first time or lesser know actors, and most importantly, the career-changing performance by Sandler. His character, while seedy and frustrating, maybe even annoying, felt like an honest portrayal of a real life person, and all I wanted to do was reach through the screen and grab him, to stop him on his believable downward spiral.
As the film plays, it's atmosphere washes over you, again, as if you're watching real life. As I watched it, it didn't seem groundbreaking. Partly because it may be a little too long, but mainly down to how engrossed I was. However, by the time the final scene came around, it clicked, and I knew that I had just watched a modern day classic. A film is only as good as its final scene, and Uncut Gems could not have ended in a more perfect place, for its plot, and its character arc. Despite its simplicity, it was jaw dropping.