Uncut Gems (2019) ****1/2

Uncut Gems (2019) is a relentlessly tense gem of a film with rapid editing and an unconventional score. It features a career best performance by Adam Sandler in a dramatic yet hilarious role to rival his parts in Punch-Drunk Love (2002) and The Meyerowitz Stories (2017) (my review here). Sandler, here channeling an Al Pacino-like energy, plays Howard Ratner, a Jewish NYC jeweler. Howard is one sad sack character, continuously making incredibly poor life decisions, yet you can't help but root for the guy because of his charisma. The whole film barely gives you room to breathe, and yet it keeps you glued to the screen. I'm very much looking forward to a rewatch and I need to bump directors Benny and Josh Safdie's previous film Good Time (2017) way up on my watch list.