Howard Ratner in his store. A24 Films.

2019 was a big year for movies. We got 1917, Spiderman: Far From Home, and Joker, among many others, but perhaps the most ambitious film was Josh and Benny Safdie’s Uncut Gems. It tells the story of Howard Ratner (played by Adam Sandler), a boisterous Jewish-American jeweler and gambling addict who lives in Manhattan. In order to pay off his massive debt, he must retrieve an expensive gem. The movie is almost constant action, with very few calm moments. The plot explores the roller coaster emotions of the people in Ratner’s life such as his wife and family, his girlfriend, and his powerful brother-in-law.

In my opinion, Uncut Gems is Adam Sandler’s best performance and a beautifully written film. The film starts with a kaleidoscopic trip inside a gem, which transitions into what turns out to be Howard Ratner’s colonoscopy. We later find out that Ratner sells gems and expensive jewelry to celebrities. As the movie continues, Ratner gets himself into a deeper and deeper hole with his debt, and his solution is to gamble all of the money he’s earned to make enough to pay it all off. As his life becomes more and more stressful, his relationship with his family declines, and he ends up breaking up with his girlfriend Julia.

The climax of the film comes near the end, where a bet rides on one of Ratner’s best customers, Kevin Garnett, winning his basketball game. Adam Sandler plays a perfect “angry New-Yorker,” constantly swearing and yelling. His perpetual stress doesn’t help his angry disposition, and he continually fights with the people in his life. Sandler mastered this grumpy character, with some critics calling it his best performance. Far Out Magazine calls his execution of the character “nothing short of remarkable, capturing the lust for power and success that drives the character to a state that borders insanity.”

Overall, Uncut Gems is a stressful but enjoyable watch that is sure to make you think. With its 7.4/10 rating on IMDb, I personally recommend this movie to anyone looking for a laugh, a scare, and a cry.