Film: “Uncut Gems” directed by the Safdi brothers (from 2019)
It’s easy to see why Martin Scorsese was executive producer on “Uncut Gems.” This crazed, messy, noisy but exhilarating film puts you in mind of “Mean Streets” or James Toback’s “The Gambler.”
Howard (Adam Sandler), a frenetic, A -type jeweler in NYC’s Diamond District, doesn’t bet small on basketball games. He throws down hundreds of thousands on NBA playoff games and as a result owes his soul to a couple of gangster types (Eric Bogosian among them).
Howard’s ace in the hole is a rare colored gem he has hondled from Ethiopian miners. He is counting on high rollers like NBA star Kevin Garnett (who plays himself and is excellent btw) to bid big on it at auction and save his tuchis. Meanwhile, Howard doesn’t suffer from lack of female companionship: his wife (Idina Menzel) is disgusted by him, while his GF (Julia Fox) is besotted with him.
Violent, crude but never boring: beautiful camera framings that have a refreshing, low-budget, documentary feel; (note to AugNation: don’t expect Merchant and Ivory. ) With the fabulous LaKeith Stanfeld as a hip-hoppy go-between, the music star Weeknd, and Judd Hirsch as his baffled father-in-law. The Seder scene with Hirsch, Menzel, and Sandler is worth the price of admission alone. Written and directed by the Safdie Brothers; the new “it” guys and rightly so. (Wednesday).