Is Uncut Gems a True Story?

Directed by the Safdie brothers, Josh and Benny Safdie – Uncut Gems is one fine cut gem. It was widely released on December 25 2019 by A24. The movie received critical acclaim, especially for Sandler’s performance, and was listed among the top charts of 2019 by many critics. It became A24’s highest-grossing film domestically!

The Uncut Gems is about a charismatic jeweler who makes a high-stakes bet that could lead to the windfall of a lifetime. In a precarious high-wire act, he must balance business, family, and adversaries on all sides in pursuit of the ultimate win.

What makes it a Fine Cut?

Like most great movies, a large part of what made Uncut Gems work so well as a complete piece was that it had the perfect opening scene to introduce us to the story and the perfect final scene to bring it to a close.

Uncut Gems opens with a helicopter shot of a mine in Ethiopia, courtesy of the movie’s brilliant cinematographer, Darius Khondji.

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Ambiguous endings are a risky business in movies and can do wonders if played right. If they’re too ambiguous, it can leave the audience feeling dissatisfied. The ending of Uncut Gems is just ambiguous enough. No more no less.

Photo: The Verge

One might think that Uncut Gems is a true story. Owing to the beauty of the development of Howard Ratner’s fictional bet by Safdie Brothers. The fine line between the real story and story development was often played with.

So for the major part, no. But yes, Rather than being set in present-day New York, Benny and Josh Safdie’s film takes place in 2012, integrating the real-life events of two of its cast members. NBA player Kevin Garnett, the former power forward for the Boston Celtics who plays himself in the film, is real. Safdies explained that they were determined to find a real NBA player who could play themselves. The Weeknd was their first choice to play himself because he was up and coming at the time when the movie is set.

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Uncut Gems was snubbed by the Oscars, but it’s destined to become a cult classic.