UNCUT GEMS is a superbly directed and shot character study and, although I didn’t love Adam Sandler’s performance as much as the rest of the Internet, I can’t deny that he is perfectly cast as high-stakes gambler Howard Ratner. Sandler rides the lines separating tolerable from unlikable and alienating from engrossing as he tries to turn one “hit” into more, and the way he carries the propulsive final act would turn even the most sports-agnostic person into a Boston Celtics fan, if only for a few minutes. The script is intentionally written so that characters often talk over each other, and (especially with jerks in my theater who were also talking) I had a hard time keeping track of all the different collectors and bookies breathing down Ratner’s neck. However, that wound up being immaterial: Point is, they’re bad news. The rest of the supporting cast, including Idina Mendel and Lakeith Stanfield, nicely balances Sandler’s energy, but the real star of Uncut Gems for me is the look of the film — stylishly desaturated and always in motion. Recommended.