--- title: "Uncut Gems: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/uncut-gems/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/uncut-gems" critics_score: 83 critics_reviews: 15 licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Uncut Gems (2019): what the critics said Critics' score 83 from 15 reviews: 13 positive, 2 mixed, 0 negative. Most critics strongly favour Uncut Gems, with praise centred on Adam Sandler’s performance as a compulsive gambler and jewellery dealer. The reviews repeatedly credit him with making the character’s desperation, anger and self-destructive behaviour compelling, while finding humour and vulnerability beneath the bluster. The Safdies’ tense direction also draws broad approval, with claustrophobic camerawork, immersive sound and a forceful score helping to convey the thrill and delusion of addiction. The disagreement is chiefly about how much sustained pressure the film can bear before it becomes exhausting. Variety finds the experience singular but divisive, while Collider offers a sharper dissent, finding little reason to care about the shouting, self-destructive characters despite Sandler’s comic energy. The i Paper’s complaint that the filmmaking sometimes becomes too flashy is a milder reservation. The spread runs from enthusiastic praise to frustrated resistance, though even the sceptical reviews find value in Sandler’s performance. ## Little White Lies — Hannah Strong Rating 5/5/5. 16 December 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. [Read the review](https://lwlies.com/reviews/uncut-gems) ## Time Out — Joshua Rothkopf Rating 5/5. 20 July 2019. 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. [Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/uncut-gems) ## The Guardian — Peter Bradshaw Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 9 January 2020. 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. [Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2020/jan/09/uncut-gems-review-adam-sandler-idina-menzel) ## Vulture Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 13 December 2019. 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. [Read the review](https://www.vulture.com/2019/12/uncut-gems-review-safdie-brothers-movie-with-adam-sandler.html) ## Los Angeles Times — Justin Chang Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 11 December 2019. 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. [Read the review](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2019-12-11/uncut-gems-review-adam-sandler) ## Radio Times — Jeremy Aspinall Rating 4/5. 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. [Read the review](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-xh05il/uncut-gems/) ## RogerEbert.com — Sheila O'Malley Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 26 December 2019. 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. [Read the review](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/uncut-gems-movie-review-2019) ## The i Paper — Saskia Baron Rating ★★★★. 10 January 2020. 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. [Read the review](https://inews.co.uk/culture/film/uncut-gems-review-adam-sandler-cast-safdie-brothers-384330) ## The New Yorker — Richard Brody Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 6 December 2019. Brody lauds Sandler's frantic performance and the Safdies' audacious blend of genres in a recklessly accomplished film that is exhilarating and awe-inspiring. [Read the review](https://www.newyorker.com/goings-on-about-town/movies/uncut-gems) ## Variety — Peter Debruge Fi1m's normalised score 60/100 (inferred from the text). 1 September 2019. Festival review. Debruge describes it as a delirious, high-intensity character study with Sandler's most unhinged performance, a singular but exhausting and divisive experience. [Read the review](https://variety.com/2019/film/reviews/uncut-gems-review-adam-sandler-1203320276/) ## Empire — Nick de Semlyen 6 January 2020. 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. [Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/uncut-gems/) ## Evening Standard — Charlotte O'Sullivan 10 January 2020. 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. [Read the review](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/film/uncut-gems-review-bobby-dazzler-sandler-could-cash-in-at-the-oscars-a4331151.html) ## IndieWire — Eric Kohn 31 August 2019. Festival review. 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. [Read the review](https://www.indiewire.com/2019/08/uncut-gems-review-adam-sandler-1202170245/) ## Screen Daily 10 September 2019. Festival review. 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. [Read the review](https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/uncut-gems-toronto-review/5142809.article) ## Sight and Sound — Trevor Johnston 13 December 2019. 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. [Read the review](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/uncut-gems-review-safdie-brothers-hit-sweet-spot-with-this-manic-thrill-ride) ## The Hollywood Reporter — Todd McCarthy 31 August 2019. Festival review. 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. [Read the review](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/uncut-gems-review-1235941/) ## Den of Geek — David Crow Rating 5/5. 13 December 2019. 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. [Read the review](https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/uncut-gems-review-adam-sandler/) ## HeyUGuys — Luke Channell Rating 5/5. 16 October 2019. Festival review. 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. [Read the review](https://www.heyuguys.com/uncut-gems-lff-2019-review/) ## Digital Spy — Ian Sandwell Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 31 January 2020. 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. [Read the review](https://www.digitalspy.com/movies/a30428456/uncut-gems-review-netflix/) ## Polygon — Emily Heller Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 13 December 2019. 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. [Read the review](https://www.polygon.com/reviews/2019/12/13/21020507/uncut-gems-review-adam-sandler-josh-benny-safdie-idina-menzel-kevin-garnett/) ## Collider — Matt Goldberg Rating C-. 10 September 2019. Festival review. 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. [Read the review](https://collider.com/uncut-gems-review-adam-sandler/) ## Deadline — Pete Hammond 11 December 2019. 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. [Read the review](https://deadline.com/video/uncut-gems-review-adam-sandler-safdie-brothers-a24/) ## NME — Alex Flood Rating 5. 10 January 2020. 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. [Read the review](https://www.nme.com/reviews/film-reviews/uncut-gems-review-adam-sandler-2595412) ## The Wrap — Steve Pond 12 December 2019. 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. [Read the review](https://www.thewrap.com/uncut-gems-film-review-adam-sandler-safdie-brothers-kevin-garnett/) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/uncut-gems.md