Like Abel and Cain and Noel and Liam Gallagher before them, the Safdie brothers are breaking up. But they won’t be bashing each other’s heads in with rocks or trading insults in NME any time soon: as Benny Safdie told Variety earlier this week, it has been an “amicable” split.
The film-making duo – best known for Good Time (2017) and Uncut Gems (2019) – became among the most exciting and raved-about directors in modern Hollywood (although their career has not been without controversy: last year, their long-term collaborator Sebastian Bear-McClard faced multiple accusations of sexual misconduct and abusive behaviour, including an onset incident in which the brothers themselves were allegedly present.) Uncut Gems, in particular, is likely to endure as one of the most definitive films of its decade.
So, why would they abandon such a fruitful partnership? According to Benny, the decision was simply a “a natural progression of what we each want to explore”. Throughout the last year, Benny has acted in a string of prestigious films and TV shows, including Oppenheimer, Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret and The Curse, a Showtime comedy series which he co-created with Nathan Fielder. He has also played a Jedi in a Star Wars spin-off series. While he seems to be currently focused on acting, he told Variety that he will continue to direct films on his own.
He has dropped out of a planned follow-up to Uncut Gems, which was due to star Adam Sandler and Megan thee Stallion, and take place in the world of sports memorabilia. The film has now been put on hold, even though Bennie insists he was never a major part of the creative process to begin with.
Instead, he has recently announced his first project as a solo director: The Smashing Machine, an A24 film in which Dwayne Johnson plays the mixed-martial arts fighter Mark Kerr. On a similar theme, he is also working on an HBO drama series about boxing. As for Joshua, it doesn’t seem like he has much in the pipeline beyond the new Adam Sandler film that may or may not be happening.
