Uncut Gems is a humanizing, yet uncompromisingly honest depiction of how gambling or any addictive, risk-taking propensity can potently manifest and corrosively permeate every facet and every passing moment of an individual’s life. It therefore does seem as if the imperturbable tension and freneticism present in the film’s dialogue and pacing were intentionally imposed upon the audience in order to replicate the sensation of frantic inconstancy and anxiety which characterize the speculative lifestyle of a gambler. After all, in an odd way, the overarching experience of watching a film, especially a thriller, arguably shares some metaphorical similarities with certain forms of gambling; like a passive observer sat beside an animated participant in an ongoing game of cards, the audience, privy to the hand their protagonist has been dealt, apprehensively views each move that character makes, betting upon their eventual success and investing, emotionally, in the outcome of their endeavors. In essence, the Safdies effectively capitalized off of this intrinsic relationship established between an audience and their given protagonist in order to cultivate a more pronounced sense of understanding and pity for the interminable stress Howard endures throughout the film, even if his impetuosity, self-centrism, and general disreputability as a person are underlying contributors to the origination or protraction of his tribulations. Conceptually, it somewhat seems as if films helmed by characters who are intentionally defined by their innate moral ambiguity and persistent acts of mounting depravity, such as Uncut Gems or Joker, will elicit subconscious deliberations in the audience concerning the extent to which their individual sympathies will continue to defend or justify the compounded behaviors of these aforementioned protagonists as their rationality progressively devolves. For a subject of introspection and discussion, I think it’s rather fascinating to attempt to personally ascertain the specific moment in these sorts of narratives which serve as the point of transcendence beyond this arbitrary, nebulous boundary of ethical permissibility, whereby even the initial empathy for the character can no longer temper the severity of their subsequent actions or decisions.
With respect to Howard, I found there to be a perceptible junction in the story that irrevocably demonstrated the true depth and profundity of his compulsive gambling proclivities through a single, impulsive decision. Essentially, the structure of Howard’s narrative arc was seemingly contingent upon the reclamation of his gem and the consequential attainment of sufficient funds to finally placate the truculent loan sharks who ruthlessly and threateningly pursued him throughout the film. And yet, when the opportunity to bring about a satisfactory resolution to the overarching predicament plaguing him arises, he inexplicably and selfishly rejects it, once again capitulating to his destructive obsessions. In other, more categorical thrillers, the meeting between Howard and the loan sharks to transfer the money would likely represent the immediate dissipation of the prolonged tension overhanging the film, as the primary conflict would ostensibly be concluded. Uncut Gems, however, as a character study anatomizing the devastation wrought by a dominant, unmitigated gambling addiction, succeeded in its intent by showcasing the cyclic behavioral patterns of individuals who thrive on statistical speculation and subjecting themselves to the unpredictable caprices of chance. To these sorts of people, the innate risk of testing the tenuity of the line dividing financial solvency and complete bankruptcy provides an addictive thrill incapable of being replicated through merely leading an average existence. As a result, no form of stability or success will ever be enough.
I did find the film’s actual culmination a bit ceremonious contextually, though it was arguably necessary from a moralistic standpoint to disallow Howard from attaining happiness and success at the end of the movie as a result of his destructive endeavors, and instead conclusively reiterate how deeply pernicious it is to sustain such a naturally tempestuous and unstable lifestyle. A brilliantly written, constructed, and performed film overall.