Queens brothers bring anxiety-inducing hit “Uncut Gems” to life

Adam Sandler (center) star of the film "Uncut Gems," posed for a photo with co-directors Benny Safdie (left) and his brother Josh at the St. Regis Hotel during the Toronto International Film Festival in Toronto in September 2019. Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP.

By Noah Singer

Two Queens brothers are the driving forces behind the smash-hit crime thriller “Uncut Gems,” which has received glowing reviews since reaching theaters on Dec. 25.

Directors Josh and Benny Safdie said the film has been a long-term project for them; the brothers started the process in 2009. The concept required “long gestation and a decades worth of thought and research,” Josh Safdie told AM New York. 

Benny revealed the attention to detail required to create the film’s anxiety-inducing atmosphere when he spoke about the “obsessiveness of getting every point of view while constantly shifting sides.” 

The film tells the story of jewelry dealer and gambling addict Howard Ratner (Adam Sandler) as he struggles to retrieve an expensive gem. Adrenaline junkie Ratner must juggle business, family and adversaries as he chases the mind-boggling windfall. 

The team said Sandler’s filmography was the reason they asked him to star. “You watch those early movies and he has this ability to ground absurd situations in reality. And you root for him,” Benny told the Financial Times. 

The brothers, who grew up between their father in Forest Hills and their mother in Manhattan, are known for their Queens-set film Good Time (2017), starring Robert Pattinson. Both brothers attended Boston University. Josh is 35, and Benny is 33.

The film, which lists Martin Scorsese and Scott Rudin among its producers and which was funded by Netflix, earned $37 million upon its release, promising to become one of entertainment company A24’s highest-grossing hits.