A star is born about an hour into Uncut Gems. The lead character, an obnoxious can’t-quit gambler (Adam Sandler) catches his mistress (Julia Fox) in the bathroom of 1 Oak Club in New York with The Weeknd. (Yes the Canadian popstar has a small role as himself.) What follows is a dragged-out funny intense loud lovers fight that starts in the club and spills into West 17th Street as Sandler and Fox scream barbs at each other and continue to fight to the bemusement of onlookers. She begs him to understand “Nothing happened, we were just doing coke.” He throws the ultimate final insult to end the fight “Go fuck The Weeknd.” Or so he thinks. That’s when Fox throws her whole body against the hood of the cab he’s trying to escape in, determined to continue the fight. That’s when we knew it; here’s an actress who will have a long career...
In Uncut Gems, Fox is funny, sexy, magnetic and memorable. She gives this jewelry shop assistant who’s dating a much older married man, a sweet nature. She plays the part with honesty, warmth, and ardor. Sandler’s Howard is not a lovable man, in fact his wife played by Idina Menzel calls him stupid and threatens to punch him. We get why. But everytime Fox is in a scene with him, we question ourselves. Is he not as annoying as he seems? Is he not putting the lives of everyone he knows in jeopardy? Could we root for him? And we do because Fox does. The way she looks at him makes the audience think 'well maybe he’s not that bad.' That’s the power of her performance.
Surprisingly this grounded well-honed performance is her first ever on screen. Josh and Benny Safdie, who directed the film, met her in a SoHo cafe and re-conceived the part after casting to be more like the real Fox. In a recent interview Fox told the NY Times that her first acting job was as a dominatrix in an East Village dungeon.
It was fantasy role play. I’d have one minute before a session. They’d give you a piece of paper with the guy’s info. ‘O.K., he wants me to be like his angry mother. Got it. Boom.’ And, you’ve got two seconds to get in that mind-set.
It seems that was all the training she needed. Now after this performance she’s ready for stardom.