Uncut Gems

It’s a pack of lies. The protagonist ("hero"), played really well by Adam Sandler, lies from start to finish, makes excuses, cheats, makes false promises, pulls the wool over people's eyes, balks... I can't say he's particularly good at it, but he certainly does it so intensely and automatically that he's actually lying to himself, even though he doesn't know it. Watching him get tangled up in his own webs was no particular pleasure for me, and I couldn't even get attached to any other character, because they're all just lying in this movie. All of them. All the time. Still, it gradually won me over, and the riveting final half hour finally earned it that fifth star. (01/02/2020)

A treat for the connoisseur. Bursting with energy, like a roller coaster ride, extremely immersive, with a hypnotic soundtrack. The vast majority of today's mainstream cinema has been boring me for the last few years because it's so predictable and formulaic in its approach, so I’m grateful for any film that manages to surprise, goes its own way, and yet is so different, distinctive, and doesn't care that only a small group of viewers will appreciate it. Safdie Bros, thank you so much! I thought I'd never see anything like this in today's deluge of Marvel and comic book crap. And Sandler, as much as I don’t like him, was fantastic here. (04/02/2020)

Uncut Gems is a high-octane, energetic film about the pursuit of money, also with the aim of getting out of a bad situation (debt). It is original primarily thanks to its electronic soundtrack, which sounds like something by Vangelis on ecstasy trying to imitate Atticus Ross. In the longer opening scene, where the music is just as loud as the dialogue, it is literally distracting. It comes across as a flawed soundtrack, to the point that you have the compulsion to grab the remote control and adjust something. It's an unusual way to dynamically engage and draw the viewer in. Used more sensitively later in the film, the soundtrack becomes a significant element of this distinctive cinematic experience. And the same can be said of the setting and characters. The directing duo’s protagonists are no angels and they all have character flaws (cheating on their wives and defrauding their business partners, ruthless greed). Despite that, we keep our fingers crossed for this one, because in the world of loan-sharking and black marketeering in which he operates, it couldn’t be any other way. The unfiltered depiction of this world, and in the Jewish community at that, makes this film unique and its makers courageous. (02/02/2020)

Neo-noir Woody Allen on cocaine laced with synthetics. Loud-mouthed, too tense, hypnotic, mumbling, repulsive, soiled, slimy and truly (I really mean truly) intense. It cannot be recommended anyone. Compared to Uncut Gems, Good Time would be a viewer-friendly film. This time, the Safdis provoke on purpose. You will either hate or admire them from the bottom of your heart, but you will hardly say “hmm, a nice average movie that I will not remember tomorrow “. You will remember. It is only a question of whether you will spit in disgust or nod appreciatively while recalling it. (13/04/2020)

Uncut Gems is almost unpleasant to watch. A spiral of self-destruction (with the very best intentions, of course) with the excellent Sandler in the lead role. The incredible pressure of an evil and raucous world conveyed through the “hero" to the viewer with unbelievable intensity. Lies, crooked deals, basketball, gambling, infidelity and contempt and the entire world plotting against one person who deserves it like no other (but you’ll still be keeping your fingers crossed for him at the end). A morality tale about gambling and something extra, and a reflection of modern times. (04/02/2020)