By Flynn Boffo
In his first solo project since hitting it big with the one-two punch that was Good Time and Uncut Gems, Josh Safdie bets the house with the rambunctious ping pong caper Marty Supreme. The film follows Timothée Chalamet as Marty Mauser, an ambitious table tennis player and hustler who is determined to be immortalized by winning the world table tennis championship. Set in 1950s New York, we meet Marty working for his father in a shoe shop, unsatisfied with the life presented to him managing the shop. Marty robs the store and buys a plane ticket to London to compete in the British table tennis open. To Marty, table tennis is less of a game and more of a frontier, if he can become the best at this niche emerging sport perhaps he can achieve greatness. What if the athlete could be bigger than the sport itself?
Much like its titular character, nothing about this film is understated. It’s a shaken bottle of soda ready to pop, bursting with energy, filled with an insane cast of beloved character actors and unexpected cameos. It’s hard to find an example of this being done before at this scale. Here names like Fran Dresher share billing with cult film director Able Ferrara, Shark Tank millionaire Kevin ‘Mr. Wonderful’ O’Leary, and Luke Manley, a Knicks fan who went viral for his drunken trash talk. For many these casting choices appear to be gimmicky at best but under the direction of Josh Safdie they fit the tone of the film perfectly blending public persona with character to create one of a kind performances that elevate the world of the film. Supporting is a breakout performance from Odessa A’zion as Rachel Mizler, Marty’s childhood sweetheart who is on the run after her affair with him resulted in a pregnancy. In a film full of big personalities Odessa holds her own, she is the only person who can get through to Marty even if it requires some trickery.
Timothée Chalamet is perfect in the role of Marty, much of his persona feels strikingly similar. Chalamet, who has been criticized in recent times for a perceived lack of modesty and restraint, is having a ball with this part both on screen and in the promotion of the film. Last year, when accepting a SAG award, Chalamet declared that he was “in pursuit of greatness”. Chalamet thrives in this role as a rowdy young man ready to take on the world. I can understand the push back towards that kind of persona but in terms of creating interest around this strange film it is incredibly effective.
The film is imbued with a sense of 80s nostalgia which strangely feels perfect. Smokey pool halls and dingy apartments contrast well with a synth heavy soundtrack filled with needle drops. Alphaville’s Forever Young sets the tone, playing over the titles encapsulating the melancholy of Marty; an individual who has never experienced consequences. To be young is to be selfish and take risks, it’s thrilling to see a film engage with this. We need more stories that celebrate the chaos of adolescence.
Overall Marty Supreme provides a rich experience for movie lovers, it feels like a call back to the gritty new american cinema of the 70’s. A period where cinema did not need to be perfectly explained and characters were allowed to be messy and unlikeable. If this gamble does well it might even wake studios from their malaise and reconsider their overly sanitised output.