Year of Release: 2025
Director: Josh Safdie
Starring: Timothee Chalamet , Gwyneth Paltrow, Odessa A'zion, Kevin O'Leary, Abel Ferrara, Fran Drescher, Emory Cohen, Sandra Bernhard, Tyler the Creator, Larry 'Ratso' Sloman, Dennis Creaghan, Luke Manley, Fred Hechinger, Penn Jillette, Isaac Mizrahi, Koto Kawaguchi, Isaac Simon
Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 7
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Synopsis and Review
Following the trifecta of films he directed with his brother Benny, "Heaven Knows What", "Good Time", and "Uncut Gems", writer/producer/director Josh Safdie has ventured out on his own, collaborating with writer Ronald Bronstein and actor/producer Timothee Chalamet to bring to life the character of Marty Mauser, loosely inspired on the life of Marty Reisman, a Tennis Table player who wrote a book about his craft in the 1970s. The narrative places us in New York in 1952. Marty Mauser is working as a shoe salesman at his uncle's shop, is involved with Rachel Mizler, his married neighbor whom he has known for a long time, but his master plan is to go to the British Open for Table Tennis. He has been doing the sales job in the hopes his uncle pays him $700 for the plane and hotel fare. His mom and his uncle find this focus on table tennis something with no future, and as a last resort Marty takes money from his uncle's vault, as he's taken off without paying him. While in London Marty becomes aware of Kay Stone, an actress currently married to Milton Rockwell, a very wealth businessman (his fortune stems from selling pens). Marty manages to get to the finals but is defeated by the Japanese player, Koto Endo. On top of it his self entitled behavior irritates the organizers of the event. While initially disagreeing with doing Table Tennis has an activity/hobby showcase, he agrees to tour the world showcasing how fun the sport/activity is. Upon returning to the US, he is hit with a variety of issues all at the same time: his uncle is intent on arresting him due to the vault situation, Rachel as it turns out is pregnant, she states the baby is his, and her husband has been violent towards her, and he is also forewarned that he cannot participate in the upcoming World Championship of Table Tennis due to charging extra expenses during his stay in London. As the events keep piling on, Marty's desperation to get the money to go to Tokyo for the Championship drive him to riskier situations.
There's plenty to be said about this great portrait of a character who is so focused on his life goals, but who is also rather unscrupulous about doing what he needs to do in order to achieve his goals. In a lot of ways this film has some similarities with Martin Scorsese's "The Wolf of Wall Street", in the sense that the lead character is very narrowly focused, and eventually starts destroying everything and everyone who comes into his orbit, including family, friends, and loved ones. However whereas Martin Scorsese was able to illustrate an entire ecosystem (the financial world), populating it with an over the top central character, while still giving room for supporting ones to exist, all of this wrapped in a satire, "Marty Supreme" opts instead for a rather darker view of the central character's obsession, peppering the narrative with situations just keep getting more and more convoluted (at times almost borderline unreal, but with the director refraining the situations from going into a surreal scenario at the right moment). The film excels at creating and illustrating Marty's unrelenting life, one where the vision he has set for himself, for his role in Table Tennis, and where that will eventually lead him, has a momentum that is magnetic. However, and part of the problem for this film, is that this momentum becomes monotonous after a while: while Marty's drive is illustrate as all encompassing, the film only illustrates this side of him, this eternal quest for validation, for visibility, never allowing him to be anything else beyond this character who will stop at nothing to achieve his goals. This ends up being the aspect of the film that feels more repetitive, though every chapter is vividly and authentically brought to life, thanks to an incredible strong cast, led by Timothee Chalamet who is fantastic, with strong support from Gwyneth Paltrow, Kevin O'Leary, Emory Cohen (who is another chameleon), Abel Ferrara, and Fran Drescher. The production team is impeccable, including the fantastic score from Daniel Lopatin, the cinematography from Darius Khondji, production design from Jack Fisk, and costume design from Miyako Bellizzi. A solid film worth watching.
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