Rating: 68/100
What a movie…
To have such a mediocre bad guy that made viewers cared about, felt invested in, to the point that I was even covering my eyes at times, wanting to throw up…
*claps*
In no way am I saying that Uncut Gems was a good movie or that I’ll be recommending it to anyone. But there is a small part of me that wants to watch it again.
Here is this guy, the worst scumbag on the planet, meeting everyone’s false conception of a Jewish business man, and yet, I cared about him. I cared with a side of anxiety. The movie is a jumbled mess of gross and believable. Oh was this movie believable. I could see it all happening for real. Some may say that it’s too vulgar. I say that it’s an accurate representation of that bubble. Who really knows unless they’re in it anyway?
At no point is it clear who the bad guy really is. Is there ever a clear cut bad guy in real life, or are we all just doing our jobs? The money guys want their money - they make a business lending it out in the first place. Is it wrong of them to hold their clients to said deal? Even the gentleman that leaves to start his own business…. Is it wrong to build those connections in a dog eat dog world? To be on the top?
In the end, the message in Uncut Gems is that no matter how much you have, you’ll still want more.
It only took me half the movie and a choice sentence to actually get to that conclusion. Seriously, what was the point of the movie? I get that it’s a gambling movie. In fact, if you watch closely, you’ll see that Howard is really addicted to the high of gambling, because everything in his life turns into a gamble. He gambles with his wife, his business, the very rings on his fingers. He loves that rush. The juggling. The feeling of money in his hands. He doesn’t have a bad intuition either. Just wait until the end and you’ll see.
Which leads us to the ending in general.
Uncut Gems had no straight forward action scenes, yet produced the heart pounding moments of a car chase. The viewers are emotionally absorbed to the point that many can’t handle the anxiety. This could all be due to never really knowing what’s going to happen. However, the ending wasn’t a surprise. There was no direct foreshadowing, we don’t even find out who the guy called, and yet, the second before the moment happened, I knew it.
My biggest issue was Howard’s image and what was being shown on the screen. They kept contradicting each other. Howard was the type of man that everyone in the neighborhood knows. He had connections and wasn’t by any menas poor. Yet, he was a scumbag that cheated on this wife and owed loan sharks. Though I wanted to hate him for those facts, seeing him with his family made that difficult. There was no clear cut, I don’t like him, moment. And that could very well be the reason that I wanted him to win in the end.
Summary… the plot is okay. There’s no clear path from A to B or an obvious reason as to why the viewers are watching the movie. There’a a lot of yelling, bad choices, and overall anxiety. Cinematography wise, this isn’t some amazingly shot movie that will leave you breathless, but those moments of anxiety have to stem from somewhere. Filming is the key. Score, I’ll be a very unpopular opinion here, helped increase those moments. Score can make or break a movie and this one seriously helped to carry the moments.
Warning, this movie can be a huge trigger. I wouldn’t recommend going in and trying to watch it in one sitting. I almost had to turn it off. The beginning can be a bit much as well with the combination of score, shots, and dialogue. Just try to ride it out. Everything smoothes out later.
Happy Watching
Love Kait