Uncut Gems received critical acclaim, chosen by the National Board of Review as one of the top ten films of 2019, and is also the highest-grossing film produced by A24 at $50 million. The use of anamorphic lenses, extreme long lenses, and fluid camera movements all contribute to creating a sense of great angst.
#UNCUT GEMS BASED ON TRUE EVENTS MOVIE#
Besides the movie itself, the Safdies and Khondji make the film feel more real and immediate with their camera and lens choices. Uncut Gems was filmed on 35mm film with a few sequences filmed on digital. Of Khondji’s 40-year career, he was pushed “unlike any other project” (Gullickson) he’s worked on. The Safdie brothers brought in long-time cinematographer Nab Khondji as director of photography for this film. The key character in which they searched originally was going to be cast to Amar’e Stoudemire, then Kobe Byrant, then finally Kevin Garnett. The Safdie’s search to find a perfect player that fit the description was long, taking around 10 years. The use of non-actors by the directors gives the film an unquestionable authenticity, all while the directive decision to create a story that revolves around a real NBA game cements it in reality. This is worth note not because of Frost’s inclusion, but because the directors do not even show Frost in the film, he is there purely for his two lines over the loudspeakers inside of the nightclub. Another detail I noticed while writing this paper is that the directors even included a real DJ from New York, Kerwin Frost, as the DJ during the scene of the Weekend performing. Many of the secondary characters were also scouted on the streets of New York by the Safdies, such as Marshall and Ronald Greenberg, Mitchel and Steward Wenig, Wayne Diamond, and most notably the main antagonist of the film, Keith Williams Richards, who was waiting for the L train at 14th street when he was approached by the Safdies and asked to come to the audition (Harris).
The directors blend together their fictional movie with the reality of the location they shoot, and on top of this, a number of actors in this film play themselves, such as The Weekend, Trinidad James, Ca$hout, and of course Kevin Garnett. Uncut Gems is a fictional American crime thriller, filmed entirely in New York City, with much of it shot on location. Demonstrated in their films Daddy Long Legs, Heaven Knows What, Good Time, and the film I will be analyzing, Uncut Gems, the Safdie brothers draw the attention of the audience with their carefully crafted protagonist and extreme attention to maintaining a strong sense of realism. Over the next 11 years, the brothers directed and released an additional 5 feature films together: Daddy Longlegs (2009), Lenny Cooke (2013), Heaven Knows What (2014), Good Time (2017), and Uncut Gems (2019). By 24, Josh released his first feature film, The Pleasure of Being Robbed (Josh Safdie, 2008) with Benny helping him edit. Partially learning from their film-enthusiast father, from a young age the pair began experimenting with making films. In addition to writing and directing, the pair regularly serve in positions including shooting, editing, acting, and producing. Joshua (born April 3rd, 1984) and Benjamin (born February 24th, 1986) Safdie are American independent filmmakers based in New York City who, on top of being brothers, often collaborate creatively with one another.
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