Could Josh Safdie ever make a movie that stands still? In his collaborations with his brother Benny (“Uncut Gems,” “Good Time,” and “Heaven Knows What”), the main character is in constant motion, running from one place to the next, in and out of one jam after another, perpetually chasing and being chased.
“Marty Supreme” is his first movie without Benny (who directed “The Smashing Machine”), and if anything, the pace has quickened. Marty Mauser (Timothee Chalamet) may be the quintessential Safdie avatar, a professional table tennis player who never, ever stops moving, whether he’s dashing back and forth during a game to make that finishing shot or racing through the streets of 1952 New York.
And his mouth is often a few steps ahead of his body. Marty is a brash, prideful motormouth who talks himself into as many predicaments as he talks himself out of, perpetually on the verge of either disaster or glory. Watching “Marty Supreme,” written by Safdie and longtime collaborator Ron Bronstein, is exhilarating entertainment, keeping us off-balance and riveted as we want to see if Marty will make it or not. And, to our complete amazement, finding ourselves on his side throughout.
We first meet Marty chafing at the prospect of an ordinary life working at his uncle’s shoe store. He gets an advance on his next paycheck – okay, he steals it at gunpoint – and heads to London to compete in the British open. It’s a big bet, but Marty is used to betting big on himself. At the tournament, he trash-talks his opponents (he says of one fellow Jew who survived Auschwitz – “I’ll do to him what Hitler couldn’t”), and, incredibly, talks himself into bed with a movie star (Gwyneth Paltrow).
But Marty flames out in the championship round against a cool Japanese master named Endo (Koto Kawaguchi). Endo is deaf (so is Kawaguchi), and we’re told that allows him to ignore the noise and focus on the rhythm of the match. And Marty is all noise. The table tennis matches in the film are phenomenally enjoyable to watch, both players moving at lightning speed as the little white ball ricochets back and forth. This isn’t a friendly game in your rumpus room.
Marty comes back to New York with his tail between his legs (and a warrant for his arrest), but determined to raise enough money for a rematch at next year’s championships in Japan. Much of “Marty Supreme” follows his quest as he lies, cheats, steals and hustles to try and make enough money for the trip.
Watching Marty navigate these characters and this world is a lot of fun, and it’s a credit to Chalamet’s performance that we keep rooting for Marty, even after the people swept up in his wake live to regret it.
Driven by an anachronistically propulsive ‘80s soundtrack by Daniel Lopatin that includes needle drops like Tears for Fears’ “Everybody Wants to Rule the World” and Peter Gabriel’s “I Have the Touch,” the film surges from one wild situation into the next, with an incredible supporting casts of actors and non-actors that give the film added texture and life. Tyler the Creator is engaging as Marty’s taxi-driving friend and accomplice, director Abel Ferrara is scary as a low-level gangster, and Kevin O’Leary of “Shark Tank” is perfectly cast as a predatory plutocrat who makes Marty seem almost saintly.
Watching Marty navigate these characters and this world is a lot of fun, and it’s a credit to Chalamet’s performance that we keep rooting for Marty, even after the people swept up in his wake live to regret it. Rail-thin, with a unibrow and sweaty, pockmarked cheeks, Chalamet deliberately submerges his natural physical charisma to play Marty. We’re won over by his spirit rather than his looks – his constant striving, his refusal to ever back down and maybe, just maybe, a faint but growing remorse at the people he hurts along the way, especially his married girlfriend (a luminous Odessa A’Zion).
Whether Marty is heading towards success or failure I won’t spoil, but watching him bounce around through this movie is a hell of a rush.
“Marty Supreme” opens Christmas Day in theaters. In Madison, it will play at Marcus Point, Marcus Palace, AMC Fitchburg 18 and Flix Brewhouse Madison.
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Great review! I'm eager to see this. Happy Holidays, Rob!