My Favorite Piece of Art
What makes a work of entertainment stick out to you?
It might be that massive drop followed by an insane hook to your favorite song. Maybe, it’s an unforgettably epic chapter straight from your favorite novel. Hell, it could just be the symmetry in a painting.
In art, everyone has something that grabs them.
For me, it’s emotions; I’ve always found the biggest test of any script, picture, or song is if it can make you feel something. Moments when art is so strong it can trigger these biological reactions our brain often reserves only for the “real world”; giving you physical goosebumps, a throbbing heartache, or having you sweating with anticipation. It’s pretty unreal.
That's why I find the unending, nerve-killing stress produced by my favorite piece of art, Uncut Gems, so impressive.
Uncut Gems💎
So what is Uncut Gems? Well since we are on the topic of emotions, I’ll tell you exactly how this movie makes you feel: like driving by a brutal car accident.
It’s ugly, frequently morbid, and ultimately induces stress. And yet, you can’t stop yourself and just stare at the whole thing as you pass by.
In December 2019, Joshua and Ben Safdie released their sixth feature-length film: Uncut Gems. It centers around a charismatic jeweler played by Adam Sandler who runs around New York in 2012. He’s a hustler; never having time for sleep, because the second he makes some cash off of a gem, he’s gambling it on the next Celtics game, or using it to pawn a ring; repeating this cycle and never paying off the loan sharks he borrowed from in the first place.
The movie rapidly follows this downward gambling spiral as he digs himself into a deeper and deeper hole he can’t climb out of. It creates this sort of rising tension that never lets off the gas as the movie just gets more suspenseful as the bets get larger and larger.
And this violently accelerating pace is reflected not only throughout the story but in almost every aspect of the filmmaking. Fast, bright, and explosive shots dominate the majority of the movie’s image. The Safdies rarely give you a glimpse of a wide angle, leaving there almost no room for taking a breath; it’s just you, Sandler, and the ever-shrinking rooms of New York.
Another huge factor that adds to the stress is that vicious dialogue. People constantly talk over each other, sometimes even screaming just to hear their point. Then over this yelling, there’s a phone ringing, and a child is crying while someone is shushing them, and the mailman is banging on the door, screaming for someone to open it in a hurry; it’s all just beautiful chaos, and this is almost every scene!
But it never feels artificial. The Safdie brothers have a real talent for creating dramas immersed in realism. They rarely cast actors into their works, instead opting to hire people who are what their roles are; many of the pawn shop and banker “actors” in the movie are actual store owners from the city, Kevin Garnett plays Kevin Garnett, and even the Weeknd makes a surprise feature. It all creates this organic feeling that this story could have really happened.
And I guess that’s what makes this whole epic so enthralling: the realism. The movie gives you a glimpse into another world rarely talked about; hustlers in New York, and the type of thrilling roller coaster lives they live.
Will this story teach you invaluable lessons? No. It’s not that kind of narrative; one where the characters, places, and theme perfectly intertwine into an epic idea.
As is said, Uncut Gems’ greatest accomplishment is the feelings it can induce. Like the car accident on your way to work, the only lesson learned - drive safely - is one that you probably had before passing the crash; but what I can guarantee is that you weren’t gripping the damn steering wheel so tightly before.
Check it out!
