![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() One of the founders of the NAACP was a Jew! The connection is there, but it’s a complicated one, built around the sensation of being an other shut out from some sectors of society.” “If you look up the general connection between the Jews and the black community, it’s something of an ineffable bond… In the history of America, during the Civil Rights movement, a lot of Jewish activists took part because they felt a need to stand up in solidarity. Let Josh Safdie explain, as he did to InsideHook in December: It’s a symbolic take on the real history. No matter their differences, the black and Jewish characters here are bound together by their lives in an underground reality, where they can exist as almost exaggerated versions of themselves. And the sale of a piece that Howard promised to return to its owner. Then there’s the scheming surrounding an auction. As the story moves forward, grievances start to replace the partnership between Howard and some of his black associates.īut one thing that remains true is that both the diamond dealer Jews and the blacks portrayed in the movie all remain outsiders: Howard’s entire enterprise operates outside of the norms of normal society, and at times it even feels outside the boundaries of typical black market reality.įor example, a large part of the movie revolves around a gem mined by black Jews in Ethiopia that Howard takes great pains to obtain and hold onto - not your typical jewelry or drug deal. Before that, the black and Jewish worlds of the movie coexisted and even bonded over a consumerist obsession with the jewelry that Howard peddles. Howard and Demany have a working friendship that sometimes feels like a real friendship, until something goes terribly wrong (involving one very mysterious gem). Lakeith Stanfield as Demany in “Uncut Gems.” (Screen shot from YouTube) His way into those worlds is his friend and assistant-of-sorts Demany (played by the talented Lakeith Stanfield), who brings clients in for a piece of the pie. Howard seems to sell to several black clients in the worlds of hip-hop and even sports - former NBA star Kevin Garnett plays a fictionalized version of himself - looking for flashy jewelry. The scene where she faces Sandler down while wearing her old bat mitzvah dress is reason enough to watch the movie.Īn even less talked about aspect of the film, however, is its nuanced peek into the complicated relationship between Jews and blacks in the U.S. But Idina Menzel, playing his wife who has absolutely no patience for his BS, is the unsung hero of “Uncut Gems,” as our colleague Molly Tolsky wrote. Sandler’s acting has gotten most of the attention, which is deserved. The Safdie brothers, who wrote and directed the movie, create an in-your-face image of New York City that feels like it’s out of a gritty 60s or 70s film like “Taxi Driver” or “Midnight Cowboy.” They totally nail the gaudy upper-middle class Jewish Long Island aesthetic - huge houses, nice cars, designer clothes, gelled hair, a semi-traditional Passover seder where you watch the NBA playoffs afterward. At every moment in the movie, it feels like he’s about to get into disastrous trouble or has barely escaped it - for the time being. Without spoiling too much of “Gems,” which was recently made available on Netflix, the basics are that Sandler plays the edgy jeweler Howard Ratner, whose gambling habit is as dangerous and volatile as his personal life. If you haven’t seen it yet, expect to be on the edge of your seat with your heart racing for the entirety of the film’s two hours and 15 minutes. ( JTA) - Describing “Uncut Gems” as that movie that brought Adam Sandler rave reviews for playing a New York Jewish diamond dealer doesn’t do it justice. ![]()
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