Overview
A high-stakes gamble spirals into chaos as one man's obsession leads him to the brink.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Breakneck
- Intensity
- Extreme
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Brutal
- frantic
- anxiety inducing
- claustrophobic
- intense movie night
- arthouse thriller night
What critics said
Critics broadly praised the Safdies’ anxiety-inducing direction and exhilarating soundscape, while celebrating Adam Sandler’s acclaimed dramatic performance.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Howard continually risks his business, family, and personal safety to chase larger bets and financial redemption.
Crowded conversations, constant negotiation, gambling reversals, and dense sound design make Howard’s world feel relentlessly unstable.
The rare Ethiopian uncut gem drives Howard’s financial schemes and attracts competing buyers, creditors, and gamblers.
Howard’s jewelry business connects New York’s diamond trade, debt networks, celebrity clients, and family pressures.
Films like Uncut Gems, and why
Good Time
shares an anxiety-inducing crime thriller structure, morally compromised protagonist, escalating bad decisions, and abrasive urban energy
Punch-Drunk Love
shares corrosive ambition, obsessive self-destruction, high-pressure pacing, and a protagonist driven by compulsive risk-taking
The Gambler
shares gambling addiction, criminal entanglements, suspenseful moral compromise, and relentless psychological tension
After Hours
shares kinetic urban crime, dark comedy, nervous momentum, and a central character trapped by his own schemes
Movie Details
- Directors
- Benny Safdie, Josh Safdie
- Release Date
- 2019-12-13
- Runtime
- 136 min
- Rating
- 7.2 / 10 (5603)
Cast
- Adam Sandler
- LaKeith Stanfield
- Julia Fox
- Kevin Garnett
- Idina Menzel
- Eric Bogosian
- Judd Hirsch
- Keith William Richards
- Mike Francesa
- Jonathan Aranbayev
Where to watch in United States
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, Spectrum On Demand
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Uncut Gems about?
- A compulsive New York jeweler turns one extraordinary gemstone into an all-or-nothing spiral of wagers, debts, and self-destruction.
- What is Uncut Gems like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Uncut Gems as breakneck, its intensity as extreme and its storytelling as layered.
- Is Uncut Gems violent?
- Yes. Ember rates the violence in Uncut Gems as brutal.
- What did critics think of Uncut Gems?
- Critics broadly praised the Safdies’ anxiety-inducing direction and exhilarating soundscape, while celebrating Adam Sandler’s acclaimed dramatic performance.
- Which films are like Uncut Gems?
- Films with a similar feel include Good Time, Punch-Drunk Love, The Gambler, and After Hours.
- How long is Uncut Gems?
- Uncut Gems runs 136 minutes.
- Where can I watch Uncut Gems?
- In United States, Uncut Gems is available to rent or buy from Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, Spectrum On Demand.
