A charismatic New York City jeweler 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.
Chuck says:
Directors Benny and Josh Safdie are an acquired taste. Their gritty, in-your-face, manic approach overshadowed their first three films, undercutting their hard-edged stories. However, they tone things down just enough to allow this tale of small-time hustler Howard Ratner, brilliantly played by Adam Sandler, to resonate. As their anti-hero’s schemes come tumbling down around him, the directors’ already intrusive camera bores in even further on Sandler who fills the screen with a sense of misguided bravado and frantic desperation that’s a revelation. Not for all tastes, this is a daring piece of cinema that signals a new and welcome direction for Sandler.
