Marty Supreme Review: Modern Filmmaking at its Finest

Timothée Chalamet and director Josh Safdie have been making waves with their new sports drama Marty Supreme since it was released on Christmas. The concept of a table tennis themed sports drama has the potential to lean more towards comedy since the sport is rarely taken seriously by most. However, Marty Supreme plays it relatively straight and the result is one of the most kinetic and tense dramas of the decade.

Marty Mauser’s (Chalamet) life is at a standstill but things are looking up. He’s beaten some of the best table tennis players in the world and he’s ready to hit the big leagues on the global stage. The only problem? He doesn’t have the money to make it to the foreign tournaments he must take on to achieve superstar status.

And that is the crux of Marty Supreme, a talented man trying desperately to get the crucial financial bump by any means necessary. While the film is billed as a sports drama (and don’t get me wrong, it definitely is) so much of the focus is a deep dive into both Marty’s character and his place in the 1950s socioeconomic hierarchy. This is a period piece through and through and every piece of the production design fits perfectly. The sets for the different table tennis arenas Marty plays in are a highlight ranging from cheap and rowdy bowling alleys and clubs to stunningly realized and sophisticated tournaments. The whole film combined with excellent directing and cinematography is stunning just to look at.

The period piece setting also gives way to an impressive amount of thematic depth.  At its heart Marty Supreme is about the hopefulness of the American Dream and the harsh realities of the real world. Marty’s economic struggles are still heartbreakingly relevant in a world where most people will never see their dreams realized. Despite this struggle the film is still earnest and hopeful throughout and that’s all due to its central performance.

Timothée Chalamet gives a career best performance. Marty is rude, brash, arrogant, and all around has few redeeming qualities. Despite this Chalamet gives him an all important charm that makes him just likable enough to keep the audience rooting for him. There’s something inspiring seeing Marty’s wide-eyed conviction in his dream no matter how difficult it is to reach. Marty is also more complicated than that and his relationships with the other characters, especially his childhood best friend turned lover Rachel (Odessa A’zion), reveals a hidden depth that  sits boiling under the surface.

Speaking of the performances, the supporting cast of Marty Supreme is as excellent as it is quirky. A’zion was a true surprise and I hope that this was her breakout role. It’s hard to convey the role she plays without spoiling the film but I definitely think that she’s leading lady material. The industry seems to be recognizing her talent too as she was nominated for best supporting actress in The Actor Awards (formerly SAG awards) this year.

Gwyneth Paltrow turns out a good performance as well as a secondary love interest for Marty. They have some of the spots of comedic relief in the film and their conversation over the phone from a hotel room scene is hilarious. You’ll know it when you see it.

The only performance that doesn’t completely work for me is Kevin O’Leary of Shark Tank fame as the main antagonist of the film. O’Leary plays Milton Rockwell, a ruthless businessman who initially offers Marty support and then pulls the rug on him due to Marty’s rude nature. He is in much of the movie and seems to just play himself. Which doesn’t detract that much from the movie because I don’t think O’Leary is that different from the character he is portraying. But still a deeply weird performance that doesn’t work all the time. It doesn’t help that O’Leary is doing whatever the opposite of promoting his movie is by brutally misunderstanding the ending of the film. That being said he has a scene with a table tennis paddle here that is so absurd it may make his casting worth it.

I also can’t fully discuss this movie without mentioning the score. Composer Daniel Lopatin uses 80s style synths giving the whole period piece an ethereal out of time feeling. This is backed up by several fantastic needle drops which further back the 80s synth vibe including Alphaville’s “Forever Young” starting the hysterical opening credits sequence.

Overall Marty Supreme is a lot of things. It’s an anxiety-inducing drama in the vein of director Josh Safdie’s previous collaborations with his brother Benny Good Time and Uncut Gems. It’s also a film with surprising moments of comedy among all of the tense moments. It’s a fantastic album for fans of synth heavy electronic music and it’s also the best advertising opportunity for ping pong table manufacturers. More than anything it’s hopefully Timothée Chalamet’s first Oscar win; he is truly phenomenal in this.

Score: 9/10