Uncut Gems is expected to be one of the biggest movies of the holiday season. The fact that it got a Christmas Day release testifies to how much potential the film has to attract crowds. The Safdie Brothers, who wrote and directed it, are receiving a ton of praise for their work in the form of reviews and awards. Before Uncut Gems, the brothers worked on smaller projects, like Jay-Z's "Marcy Me" music video.
While this music video may not have matched the production scale of Uncut Gems, it is still incredibly cinematic. The video shows police hunting a supposedly-armed "young black man" from a helicopter before they end up pursuing a child trying to retrieve groceries for a cookout. The 4:44 visuals came out so impressive largely due to the work of the Safdie brothers and cinematographer, Darius Khondji, who also worked on Uncut Gems.
In an interview with Pitchfork, the Safdie brothers explained that the "Marcy Me" video ended up making a strong impression on Sandler and played a part in convincing him to join Uncut Gems. “He really emotionally responded to it,” Josh Safdie remembered. “It only helped in that courtship.” Good thing Sandler is a Jay-Z fan because if he didn't see the video, he may not have given what is being hailed as the best performance of his career.
