I think you are the most annoying person I have ever met

Continuing my trip up The Guardian's Top 50 Movies of 2020...

#11 : Uncut Gems

Adam Sandler turns in a brilliant performance as fast-talking diamond dealer Howard Ratner trying to fend off debt collectors in the Safdie brothers’ hyperactive, stress-inducing crime flick.

It's fair to say I'm not a fan of Adam Sandler's "comedies" which it feels like he's been churning out for years now - but he has in the past produced some fine dramatic work (he's very good in Punch-Drunk Love - from way back in 2002) and this is apparently much more in that vein.  It is also supposed to be a very stressful film, so I must admit I'm approaching it with some trepidation since I find myself particularly susceptible to such films and often have to turn them off for a bit to recover before I can continue watching them.

And we start off at a mine of some kind (opal, we learn later) where some dudes are obviously making off with a stone they shouldn't be - I wonder if we'll see that later in the film?  We then disappear into the stone in a fuzz of lights for the credits - only to emerge onto a screen displaying the results of Adam Sandler's colonoscopy.  Which wasn't exactly what I was expecting, if I'm being honest.

And from that point on, the film is pretty much on the go the entire time - wheeling, dealing and moving huge amounts of cash about to try and stay ahead of a whole load of people.  In terms of an overall plot, it's never entirely clear that the film has one - it's more just a case of seeing if he can make it through each day.  It's fair to say Adam Sandler's character, Howard Ratner (yes, he's a jeweller) makes some somewhat dubious life choices but if he just sat at home and watched telly all day, it probably wouldn't have made for such an entertaining film.  However, the Safdie brothers manage to wring the maximum stress out of every situation - whether he's being kidnapped and forced to take off all his clothes or whether he's struggling to open a door, you can feel the tension levels ramping up throughout.  Having said that, they also manage to include some nice moments of familial tenderness at times (despite the fact that a lot of the family hate each other - funnily enough, money is involved!)

In terms of acting, it's a film that lives or dies by Mr Sandler's performance and thankfully he puts in the hard yards - unlike a lot of his other recent films.  It's a frenetic, stressful performance which is perfect for the role and he pulls it off beautifully.  He is very ably supported by the other cast members - special mentions to Julia Fox and Idina Menzel as the two women in his life (so no stress there!), Lakeith Stanfield (who pops up in a lot of good films) as a very unhelpful helper and Kevin Garnett also shines as an entitled basketball star (which must have been a stretch for him to play - and boy is he TALL!).  It feels like it's got a HUGE cast though because he's always bumping into people he knows - but I suspect some recycling may be going on.  It's also got Tilda Swinton in a voice-only role, which seems like an odd piece of casting.

It's filmed in a very rough and ready style a la hand-held documentary - but this works well giving you the feeling of being in the middle of the action.  The sound suffers somewhat as a result - I appreciate this was an artistic choice, but there were times I struggled to follow exactly what was going on, especially when everyone was shouing.  Additionally, at times the mix between the dialogue and the music is very uneven - again, I'm guessing this was an artistic choice, but it was a bit jarring.  

So - did I enjoy it?  Well, no not really - but that's a credit to everyone involved in playing on my inability to watch stressful films.  There are several times that you just know they're setting things up for it all to go horribly, horribly wrong but you're not entirely sure how it's going to pan out - but they don't let you down in supplying the requisite car-crash.  Although they don't always supply it when you're expecting it, which just makes things worse!  I did, however particularly enjoy the last half an hour - Howard has a potential way out of his troubles which, although obviously mad, might just work.  And you have absolutely no idea which way it's going to pan out - and I, of course, am not going to tell you what happens.  I will tell you, however, that it's very stressful and ends up not at all where I was expecting it to (and don't go looking for spoilers, because well, they'll spoil it for you)

So overall, I'd say it's a recommendation from me - it's not going to hurt if you have some interest in crime/gangster/betting movies but it's a different kettle of fish from most of those kinda films.  And it's another Netflix film, so you know where to find it if you want it.  And one final fact to amuse you - this film comes fourth on the Wikipedia entry for the "films that most frequently use the work "fuck"", although the top two seem like cheat entries to me, so I'm placing it second behind The Wolf Of Wall Street, which is a fine film if you haven't seen it - but I should warn you it's slightly sweary.

#12 - What?  No Chadwick Boseman?
#10 - A step up in quality as we hit the top 10