Uncut Gems (2019)

Sandler delivers a dazzling, hypnotic turn as the fatalistic jeweler at the heart of this precision-engineered anxiety attack of a film. The Safdies craft a stylish, sad, funny and bleak masterpiece of technical finesse and unrelenting creativity.

The Safdies deliver an electrifying, abrasive triumph that develops genuine affection for its schemers. Sandler gives a never-better, magically right performance in a high-stakes, autobiographical-feeling portrait of manic urban survival and Jewish New York life.

The critic praises this as the year's most exciting film, a sensationally good high-energy thriller with a glorious career-best performance from Adam Sandler as a fast-talking, gambling-addicted diamond dealer. The Safdie brothers create gripping black-comic chaos with pure energy and grungy voltage.

The Safdies deliver their most manic film, giving Sandler the ultimate role that fuses anger, need, and self-destructiveness. It is an awesome, freaky, hell of a marathon that is not easy but rewarding, with standout support from the cast and cinematography.

Chang calls it an invigorating, maddening movie with Sandler giving the performance of his career in a razor-sharp drama directed with relentless tension by the Safdies.

Sandler is a revelation as the incorrigible motormouth jeweler in this breathless thrill-ride of a gambling addiction and collapsing house of cards. The Safdies evoke 1970s classics with claustrophobic visuals, an incisive electro score and a nerve-jangling climax.

The critic praises the film's immersion in the protagonist's addictive, chaotic world and Sandler's performance as a gambling addict jeweler, highlighting how it captures the thrill and delusion of addiction without being a cautionary tale.

Hails the edge-of-the-seat filmmaking with dazzling camerawork and an immersive soundtrack. Singles out Sandler's career-changing performance as a compulsive gambler and jewellery dealer, while noting it is too flashy at times but still one wild ride.

Brody lauds Sandler's frantic performance and the Safdies' audacious blend of genres in a recklessly accomplished film that is exhilarating and awe-inspiring.

Debruge describes it as a delirious, high-intensity character study with Sandler's most unhinged performance, a singular but exhausting and divisive experience.

Praises the Safdie brothers' film as a mesmerizing thriller that captures its world vividly with a snaky plot for maximum tension. Singles out Adam Sandler's layered, career-best performance as a major reason it works.

Calls the film a ferociously involving New York thriller with a sexy-scuzzy, seriously good performance from Sandler. Notes some shortcomings in supporting roles and a generic, sentimental ending, concluding it is over-valued but not by much.

Sandler delivers his most contemptible character in a 30-year career in the Safdies' abrasive, deranged follow-up to Good Time. The film is a riveting high-wire act and hypnotic blast that pairs cosmic visuals with gritty thriller energy.

The Safdies unite with Sandler for jittery, almost unbearably tense effect in a cracking, jangling panic attack of a movie. Sandler gives a career-highlight performance that transcends even Punch-Drunk Love, though the nervous tension over two hours is bracing yet exhausting.

The critic hails the Safdies' most polished yet chaotically energetic effort as a magnificent black comedy and signature achievement. Sandler's fast-talking hustler is compulsively watchable and perfectly cast in an immersive, unrelenting portrait of risk and delusion.

The critic calls it a career high for Sandler and the Safdies in a sparkling comedy-drama about a compulsive gambler and risk-taker. Sandler's brash, obnoxious jeweler performance anchors the frantic, overwhelming but credible human story.

The critic praises it as a masterpiece with a career-defining performance from Adam Sandler in a uniquely slick crime drama that is rascally, weird, and addictive. They single out Sandler's electric portrayal of the gambler Howard Ratner for praise.

The critic calls the film a masterclass in anxiety-inducing filmmaking with a relentlessly noisy sound design and pounding score that captures the protagonist's chaotic life. Sandler's multifaceted, career-best performance as the fast-talking jeweler is singled out as riveting and the key element making the character authentic and relatable.

The review finds it an exhausting yet compelling thriller with a career-best performance from Adam Sandler that keeps viewers hooked despite the stress. They praise the transformative acting but note it may not be for everyone due to its intensity and length.

The Safdies craft a feature-length panic attack full of overlapping calamities and tension that leaves viewers overwhelmed yet engaged. Sandler's best-career performance and the directors' claustrophobic style make Howard's self-destructive spiral compelling despite its exhausting nature.

The film is an exhausting grind of self-destructive, yelling characters with little to root for. Sandler's energetic, comic performance as the lead is the main saving grace.

The critic lauds Sandler's intense, exhausting yet exhilarating performance as the ultimate high-wire act in a relentless, compelling film by the Safdie brothers that captures the essence of New York.

The critic hails it as proof of the 'Re-Sandler-ssance' with Sandler never better in an anxiety-inducing heart-attack of a movie that is gripping throughout. They single out the tense direction and Sandler's versatile performance for praise.

The critic praises the Safdie brothers' chaotic storytelling and Sandler's convincing performance as a desperate hustler, highlighting the film's immersive, adrenalized atmosphere and strong ensemble.