WHAT A GEM
Is Uncut Gems a true story? Real life events behind the Netflix drama
CRIME thriller Uncut Gems starring Adam Sandler is now on Netflix and audiences are asking if the gritty film is based on a true story.
In a rare departure from comedy, Sandler takes on the role of Howard Ratner - a debt-ridden gambling addict - but is the movie inspired by real events? Here's all you need to know...
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What is Uncut Gems about?
Directed by brothers Josh and Benny Safdie, Uncut Gems has been 10 years in the making and has finally dropped on .
Adam Sandler stars as lead character Howard Ratner and the actor already has Oscar vibes for the role.
Known for comedy films such as Happy Gilmore, The Wedding Singer and Grown Ups, the 53-year-old actor plays a stressed out gambling addict in huge amounts of debt, who has ruined his marriage and is shacked up in a bachelor pad with his mistress.
Looking for a way out of his financial struggles and to get the heavies off his back, he decides to try to sell a rare black opal he has illegally imported from Ethiopia for $1million.
The synopsis reads: "A charismatic New York City jeweller always on the lookout for the next big score makes a series of high-stakes bets that could lead to the windfall of a lifetime.
"Howard must perform a precarious high-wire act, balancing business, family, and encroaching adversaries on all sides in his relentless pursuit of the ultimate win."
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Is Uncut Gems based on a true story?
Fans have been left wondering if the film is based on true story and the directors have confirmed that it is - sort of...
The Safdie brothers have revealed that the crime thriller is inspired by stories their father told them when they were younger, while he had a job in the Diamond District on the West 47th Street block in Manhattan.
Apparently he worked as a runner, taking jewellery from a wholesale dispatch to places like pawn shops and jewellery stores.
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Josh Safdie said in an interview with The Wrap: "He worked there for seven or eight years. And he worked for a guy named Howard who was an outsider in the diamond district, a real character.
"Our Howard is not even a little bit like the real Howard, but there would be no our Howard without the real Howard.
Benny Safdie added: "It was an inspiration for us to think, 'Oh, this world can be explored and mined for these incredible stories and moments that could only exist on this block of 47th Street'."
So not quite true-crime, but crime-thriller nonetheless.
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Who's in the cast of Uncut Gems alongside Adam Sandler?
Adam Sandler gives a standout performance as Howard Ratner and there's talk of Oscar nominations for the role.
The supporting cast are mostly newcomers to the big screen and there is cameo roles from musician The Weeknd and basketball player Kevin Garnett.
- Adam Sandler as Howard Ratner
- Idina Menzel as Dinah Ratner
- The Weeknd as himself
- Kevin Garnett as himself
- Julia Fox as Julia
- LaKeith Stanfield as Demany
- Eric Bogosian as Arno
- Paloma Elsesser as Kat
- Judd Hirsch as Gooey
- Mike Francesa as Gary
MORE FILM EXPLAINERS
When is Uncut Gems out on Netflix?
Uncut Gems dropped on Netflix in the UK on January 31, 2020 - so it is available to watch now.
The film, rated 15, runs for two hours and 15 minutes.
You can watch the trailer at the top of this article.
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