Raw and Uncut

Uncut Gems begins with a walk through a subterranean mine and the video of colonoscopy. It ends going into a man's body through a bullet hole and moving about at the molecular level. In between is an orgy of frantic and conspicuous consumption. A portrait of the disturbing rat race of moral decay we call life in 2020. The heart of the movie resides beneath the surface.

Structurally it feels very much like their previous effort, Good Time. Guy needs money in NYC. Guy goes on a frantic search through the city to get it. To be honest I was a little scared going in. As I sat down to watch I was expecting something akin to the first experience with Requiem for a Dream. Basically the dark film making arts. A movie that was going to use all the tools of cinema to make me feel uncomfortable. I was wrong. It is frantic but it never makes you look away. The Safdie's like other auteurs before them successfully tap into Adam Sandler's unique energy and even more important, a built in affection from the audience. He's not at heart a very likable character so that last part is what makes the movie. I'd love to see him win an Oscar. He deserves one.

Thematically its devastating. Its a parable about where unchecked materialism, I hesitate to use the word capitalism, but that works as well. Its a film about the moral decay of a society who has moved away from what is important and has full embraced a transactional based existence. We are bombarded with jewels and luxury goods. We see the external distractions that drive us away from internal peace. Peace does not exist in this world in any form. Only managed chaos.