In 1994, the sudden discovery of shimmering fire and black opals in rural Mezezo, a north-eastern locale in Ethiopia, catapulted the then war-ravaged country onto the worldwide opal map.

The beauty of the opal’s shifting blues and languid hues, coupled with their unusually low prices, would fuel the surge of foreign interest in these African gemstones. While this undoubtedly resulted in profit for Ethiopian mining communities, greed and exploitation solidified endemic low safety standards, with the human cost far outweighing the monetary value of these precious stones.

Blood was spilled to uncover these treasures, and the opal will see many more bleed dry.

Around the first quarter of the film Uncut Gems (2019), Sandler’s unhinged Howard, much like a kid seeking the affection of his older brother, leaps at the opportunity to show Kevin Garnett his latest treasure.

“They Say You Can See The Whole Universe In Opals”.

If there was ever a core tenet the Safdie brother’s wanted to examine when filming Uncut Gems, it would be that of obsession, though a close second would be exploitation.

Multiple times throughout the film, various characters look into the opal. The Ethiopian miners who first discover it, Howard, Kevin Garnett, all these people are mesmerized by the visages presented by the Opal’s attractive mirages. Whether they look to the innate allure of the Opal’s kaleidoscopic beauty, the gem’s monetary value, or attribute their success to its divine properties, it’s evident everyone is in love with the mysterious gem.

Clearly, the Safdie’s are aware how primal the human desire for ownership is, given the manner in which they choose to depict their characters. Yet, the way they choose to explore this universal idea within Uncut Gems is undeniably genius.

Kevin Garnett repeatedly finds means to hold onto the opal, much to Howard’s chagrin. Arno has to send out debt collectors after Howard in his attempts to reclaim the sizable debt Howard owes him. Howard, the owner of a Jewellery store in New York’s diamond district, the father of a family, and the son of his strongly jewish parents, owes responsibilities to all those around him, and in his attempts to hustle, increasingly sees the need to safeguard his assets.

“That’s my family!”

“Get your hands off my shit!”

In capitalising on the notion that everyone has something to protect, the Safdie brothers tightly plot the interweaving threads that barely hold the frantic chaos of Howard’s crumbling reality together.

This would all be good enough, if not for the fact that Howard is a gambler. To be precise, he loves gambling more than life.

“This is me, this is how I win”.

I can pinpoint the exact moment at which Howard becomes an irredeemable bastard in my eyes, around the third quarter of the film.

At this point, the central issues have been resolved. The tension, while still palpable, has mostly been left to simmer. Even the agitated camerawork and anxiety-inducing soundtrack are toned down. For the first time in 80 minutes, the Safdie’s allow Howard to take a break.

Howard is completely broken, both physically and mentally. With a broken nose, he sets aside the characteristic shrewd showmanship that’s cemented him as an asshole, as he cries into his table. Despite the seeming losses, he’s now retrieved the opal, and can make good with Arno for the debt he owes him.

That’s what he WOULD do, right? I mean, come on, any rational human being would make that decision. Howard’s been stripped naked and stuffed in the boot of his own car at his daughter’s school play, he’s on the brink of divorce and has even severed ties with his mistress. Really, the only reasonable choice to make would be to at least repay Arno the money he owes him. That’s the least he could do? Right?

Not Howard.

“I Made A Crazy Risk, A Gamble, And It’s About To Pay Off”.

Howard takes the $100,000 he owes Arno, and bets it all on a basketball game.

You know what the best part of it is? The Safdie’s reflect the audience’s honest disbelief in Arno and his goon’s reactions. The sheer hilarity of Howard’s ridiculous addiction, coupled with the annoying smile on his face hammers home the chief notion of Uncut Gems. The insane part of this entire spiel however, is that Howard wins the bet. He makes good on his winnings, an expectation so subverted even Arno can’t help but laugh.

Maybe that’s what I love so much about this movie. It’s the way the Safdie’s keep subverting our expectations. Throughout the film, Howard has been dragged through the equivalent of waste matter. He’s been beaten down so much its rare to see him wearing a clean set of clothes, and most of the time, he fully deserves it. Yet, the Safdie brothers allow Howard this one moment of victory, as he revels in the success he has pined for the entire film.

Alas, it is but a moment.

There’s something dark burrowed within ‘Uncut Gems’, ethereal as its story structure insinuates. Within the same psychedelic beauty that the Opal presents, there is a deep harkening for blood.

To quote Karsten Runquist, Uncut Gems really feels like the “darkest fairytale I’ve ever experienced”.

Uncut Gems ends bloodily and abruptly. Frankly, it’s so sudden that upon first viewing, I wasn’t really able to process what I had just watched.

Blood was spilled to uncover these treasures, and the opal will see many more bleed dry.

I won’t spoil the ending for you. If you’ve read until here and still have yet to watch Uncut Gems, I strongly urge you to do so. It’s one of the most visually and auditorily upsetting pieces of media I have consumed in the past year, and for good reason.

As Howard is rewarded with a moment of catharsis, knowing that his ‘crazy gamble’ paid off, the Safdie brothers rob audiences of that same satisfaction, and it stings. While I really feel as if I should have learnt something from watching this film, I can’t tell you with any degree of certainty if I developed anything besides a greater nihilism toward human endeavour.

All this being said, I loved every minute of this movie. It’s insane, and I cannot wait to give it a second viewing.

There’s still so much I have yet to talk about, be it the overlapping dialogue and chaotic soundscape that contributes to the vibrancy exuded by New York’s diamond district, the underlying racism and themes of exploitation that run deep in this movie’s veins, or even the varying camerawork that hints at Howard’s vacillating mental state. However, I for one, know that I lack the technical proficiency to break down any of these flourishes sufficiently, and there are a dozen analysis videos on youtube doing exactly that at the moment, (I checked).

So at the end of the day, all I can say is the Safdie brothers knew exactly what they were doing when they pieced together this film. Please watch it.

That, and the Weeknd’s voice is crazy.

That’s all for today. Thanks for taking the time to read this review/ commentary. I appreciate it. More blog posts coming soon regarding 2022 updates on life in general. See ya then 🙂

Soli Deo gloria.