Gem of a role

Adam Sandler has just delivered what is, by far, the greatest performance of his beautifully erratic film career.

With Uncut Gems, he joins forces with writers/directors Benny and Josh Safdie (makers of the excellent Robert Pattinson vehicle Good Time) and delivers the kind of fully committed dramatic performance that he’s hinted at in the past with his strong efforts in Punch-Drunk Love and The Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected). Not bad for the creative force behind Grown Ups 2.

Sandler plays Howard Ratner, a New York City jewelry store owner and gambling addict. It’s 2012, and he’s built up substantial debts with a bunch of criminals, including his brother-in-law Arno (Eric Bogosian), who doesn’t give a shit that they are related. He’s owed money, and Howard will suffer greatly if he doesn’t pay.

Howard’s solution is to obtain a million-dollar black opal straight from Ethiopia, one that the likes of pro basketball superstar Kevin Garnett (yes, Garnett plays himself here) is ready to give him all kinds of money for because he thinks the stone has powers.

Of course, selling the stone at auction and solving all of his problems doesn’t prove so easy for Howard, portrayed bt Sandler as an out-of-his-mind kook who screws up every chance he gets. In all facets of his life—whether it’s business or his relationships with his with his soon-to-be-ex-wife (Idina Menzel) and his well-meaning mistress (Julia Fox)—Howard seems incapable of doing the right thing.

With a character whose life is so messed up that it’s sometimes funny, Sandler’s comedic chops come into play for some moments of dark humor as well. But, for the most part, Sandler isn’t in this for laughs. His Howard is a complete character study of a sad, complex man addicted to chaos who doesn’t know when to quit. He completely owns the role.

Uncut Gems thrives on more than just performances; it’s also bursting with style. It’s edited with the sort of electric pace that keeps you riveted. And the Safdies adopt a swirling approach to visual and sound design that makes Howard’s crazed adventure a real trip, including psychedelic detours inside opals, and even Howard’s colon. In addition to being one of the year’s best films, it’s one of the most original.

Sandler more than deserves his first Oscar nomination here. His work stands alongside Leonardo DiCaprio’s in Once Upon a Time …in Hollywood and Adam Driver’s in Marriage Story as one of the the year’s best.