A directing duo consisting ofJoshandBenny Safdie, theSafdie brothersexperienced a steady rise in popularity over the years they spent making films together. The first feature film officially credited to both of them came out in 2009,with three subsequent features that grew in size and (arguable) quality as the years went along. Those are the core four, but theydid also direct a sports documentarycalledLenny Cookein 2013, and Josh Safdie directedThe Pleasure of Being Robbedin 2008, with Benny Safdie only being credited as a co-editor for that one. They’ve also been behind a series of short films, but for now, it’s just their four features from 2009 to 2019 that are being considered.
Sadly, theirtime as a duo seems to have passed, with Benny Safdiemoving more towards acting(as seen in films likeOppenheimerandLicorice Pizza) as well as directing, while solo, an upcomingbiographical calledThe Smashing Machine. Josh Safdie is also branching out as a solo director, being attached toanother biopic calledMarty Supreme. Perhaps the Safdie brothers' brief but impressive reign over indie cinema is over, though the films they’ve made endure, all proving uniquely intense, gritty, uncomfortably real, and undoubtedly distinctive. The four feature films both Safdies directed are ranked below, starting with the good and ending with the masterful.
4’Daddy Longlegs' (2009)
Starring: Ronald Bronstein, Alex Greenblatt, Eléonore Hendricks
There are certainly things to appreciate when it comes toDaddy Longlegs, even if watching the films the Safdie brothers made in its wake ultimately feels more satisfying. It’s a more than decent film and quite good by the standards of adirectorial debut, with Josh and Bennyboth being in their early to mid-20s while making and releasing it. Narratively, it doesn’t have quite as intense stakes as their more well-known films, which have a more physical/visceral sense of dread. But there are still stakes within something that’s character-focused over story-focused, givenDaddy Longlegsis about a father of two who only has custody of his sons for a fortnight every year, and his parenting style is… interesting.
It’s a drama, first and foremost, with some dark humor throughout, owing to the protagonist’s chaotic life and the depiction of how he cares for his kids but makes so many mistakes while looking after them. It wasa personal film for the Safdie brothers, andsome of thetension and realistic atmosphere praised in their later moviescan be glimpsed here and therethroughoutDaddy Longlegs. It also marked their first collaboration with the underappreciatedRonald Bronstein, who played the lead inDaddy Longlegsand also has co-writing and co-editing credits. He’s credited as a co-writer and co-editor for the other three Safdie brothers’ movies, too, working behind-the-scenes post-Daddy Longlegs, but clearly played a key role in the success of those later films.
Daddy Longlegs
After months of living a solitary existence, Lenny, 34, picks up his kids from school. Every year he spends a couple of weeks with his sons Sage, 9, and Frey, 7. Lenny hosts his kids within a midtown studio apartment in New York. During these two weeks, he must figure out if he wants to act as their father or be their friend. Ultimately, their trip upstate results in complete lawlessness taking over their lives.
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3’Heaven Knows What' (2014)
Starring: Arielle Holmes, Caleb Landry Jones, Eléonore Hendricks
Half a decade on fromDaddy Longlegs, the Safdie brothers returned withHeaven Knows What, a film that signified a sizable step forward in quality for the filmmaking duo. Like all their feature films, it takes place in New York City, with the premise here centering on the experiences ofa young woman who’s addicted to heroin. It maintains the character focus (over plot) found inDaddy Longlegs, but the subject matter makes it increasingly dark and intense. Unlike their later films, it’s not the kind of intensity that proves darkly entertaining, either.It’s really just bleak, uncompromisingly grounded, and brutally honest about what addiction can do.
Heaven Knows Whatbrings more authenticity to the table than most movies about addiction dare to present, and part of that stems from the fact thatHeaven Knows Whatisnot only something of a biographical movie, but also something of an autobiographical movie. The lead actress,Arielle Holmes, wrote an unpublished memoirabout her experiences with addiction, and that text was used as the source material forHeaven Knows What, with Holmes playing a somewhat fictionalized version of herself throughout. Every Safdie brothers movie benefits from having an excellently cast actor in the lead role, and that can certainly be said aboutHeaven Knows What. Holmes’ contributions to making the film as intense and real as it feels cannot be overstated.
Heaven Knows What
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2’Good Time' (2017)
Starring: Robert Pattinson, Benny Safdie, Buddy Duress
It’s bittersweet that the Safdie brotherscame into their own completely as a duofor what would end up being their penultimate film (if a reunion does ever happen, it’s unlikely to be for a while). That perfecting of their style and voice was found inGood Time, the movie that kind of established them as a big deal within the world of indie cinema, for lack of a better term. Some term along those lines is needed, though, becauseGood Timedidn’t appear to be a hit in the traditional sense, or on paper. It earned justa few million at the box office, but was alsomade for only $2 million, and it felt like just about everyone who did see it had almost nothing but praise for it.
There’s a sense of things feeling more cinematic and plot-heavy inGood Time, compared to the earlier Safdie brothers’ movies.It featured a big-name actor in the lead role: Robert Pattinson, giving what’s potentially his best performance to date(it’s betweenGood TimeandThe Lighthouse, in all honesty). His character spends the whole film in a mad rush, desperately bouncing around and doing anything he can to try and get his brother out of police custody, even though he himself is a criminal at large.Good Timesaw the Safdie brothersbranching out into the thriller genrewith an immense amount of success, withthe film being relentless and genuinely nail-bitingin a way that was equaled – and debatably even surpassed – by what became their final film as a duo.
After a botched bank robbery lands his younger brother in prison, Connie Nikas embarks on a twisted odyssey through New York City’s underworld to get his brother Nick out of jail.
1’Uncut Gems' (2019)
Starring: Adam Sandler, LaKeith Stanfield, Julia Fox
Another Safdie brothers movie, another perfect lead performance.Adam Sandlerhas never been betterthan he is inUncut Gems, which gave him the role of a lifetime in Howard Ratner. Howard is technically more well-off and has fewer problems thrown at him than the protagonists in other Safdie brothers movies, here bringing conflict and drama into his life because he’s a man for whom nothing is ever enough.Uncut Gemsfollows Howardtrying to score big through gambling, hustling, and borrowing excessive amounts of money from different people, which causes him to make an increasing number of enemies, with some of them getting noticeably angrier and more dangerous to him as the film goes along.
So, likeGood Time,Uncut Gemsis a non-stop adrenaline rush of a film, but it’s longer, more epic in scope, and is able to build even greater amounts of intensity, with a final act that’s continually jaw-dropping. It’s not justone of the best films of its decade; it’s up there as one ofthe greatest crime movies of all time. It functions as an excellent character study and proves genuinely entertaining for those more in the mood for clear stakes, rising tension, and an engrossing narrative.If it stays the final film the Safdie brothers ever made as a duo, then it’s a clear example of going out on a high.
Uncut Gems
A crime thriller from Josh and Benny Safdie, Uncut Gems follows New York jeweler Howard Ratner (Adam Sandler) as his gambling addiction forces him to associate with increasingly dangerous individuals. After receiving an incredibly rare black opal, Howard believes he can finally free himself of his mounting debts, but not without engaging in one final high-stakes balancing act while fending off violent loan sharks.
