Marty Supreme

We have seen quite a few uncompromising sports films this year; just a few months ago we had Benny Safdie’s solo directorial offering with The Smashing Machine, which was a deeply compelling sports drama about retired UFC fighter Mark Kerr that was played to great effect by Dwayne Johnson. We also had Christy, directed by Dave Michod, which is about female boxer Christy Martin, who was played to perfection by Sydney Sweeney. Sadly, both films dwindled away from the awards buzz due to mixed reviews and poor box office, which is a kiss of death for a film’s momentum. It also doesn’t help that boxing films in general seem to be dwindling as of late, so how will a film about a grifter who has to hustle himself to a world championship tennis tournament in Japan be going to fare? It’s all uncertain, but one thing is for certain: Josh Safdie (brother to Benny Safdie) has also directed his first solo film without his brother. Benny Safdie and that is Marty Supreme which is a monumental journey filled with intense grit, a dizzying energy, a highly engaging narrative, and astounding performances by its cast. Most notably, Timothée Chalamet delivers a career-defining performance as the lead protagonist.

With this being Safdie’s very first feature since his 2019 critically acclaimed and commercially successful Uncut Gems.  His latest film is a tremendous work that captures the persistent ambition, determination, and even rampant individualism and hollowness that’s part of the American Dream. I didn’t know what to expect from the film, but I should have known better that it’s going to be far from a conventional sports drama that’s loosely based on the life of professional tennis player and world champion Marty Reisman (Chalamet).

It’s not just a powerful sports drama where you find yourself rooting for Marty that keeps you engaged. It’s the vivid recreation of 1950s New York and Safdie’s majestic, billowing sense of narrative storytelling, along with his frequent co-writer Ronald Bronstein, that comes at you with high energy and anxiety. It offers an episodic structure that is both dizzying and absorbing.

Courtesy A24 Films

It’s a saga of intense introspection, one that offered exceptional craftsmanship across the board with immaculate period reconstruction by Jack Fisk, ravishing cinematography by the great Darius Khondji, and Safdie’s brilliant direction that ruminates with the same electrifying energy in Uncut Gems that ruminates on the opportunity costs that come with staying true to your talents and pursuing dreams. It’s far from being a conventional or compromising sports drama. It also examines the effects of selfishness, greed, power, and other forces that show some of our worst impulses.

It’s a saga of intense introspection, one that offered exceptional craftsmanship across the board with immaculate period reconstruction by Jack Fisk, ravishing cinematography by the great Darius Khondji, and Safdie’s brilliant direction that ruminates with the same electrifying energy in Uncut Gems that ruminates on the opportunity costs that come with staying true to your talents and pursuing dreams. It’s far from being a conventional or compromising sports drama. It also examines the effects of selfishness, greed, power, and other forces that show some of our worst impulses.

Paltrow, however, returns in a rich performance as a flawed character just like Marty. Her Kay Stone character, with echoes of Norma Desmond, holds severe insecurities. Her career has faded, she feels she’s aging, and Marty’s desire for her gives her validation as her egocentric and millionaire husband, Milton Rockwell (Kevin O’Leary), treats her more as his own assistant than as a wife. In between tennis and his monetary opportunities that he persuades Milton to invest in, Marty finds his ego and self-worth getting inflated just like Milton’s. Marty’s plans aren’t going as he envisioned. Once Milton sponsors his table tennis league, it’s resorted to spectacle, as they even put on scripted table tennis matches before the Harlem Globetrotters’ name. He keeps getting pulled into working as a shoes man for his self-interested boss, Murray Mauser (Larry “Ratso” Sloman), who disregards his table tennis talents in hopes Marty accepts a promotion as a sales manager at the shoe store.

Courtesy A24 Films

That’s the thematic tie in the film as well; everyone has their own self-interests, and everything is transactional. All except the women characters in the film, like Kay and Rahel Mizer (A’zion), who plays a married pet shop worker and neighbor to Marty, who ends up getting impregnated by Marty, but she supports Marty all the way, even with his grifts that involve a brutal exchange with gangster Ezra Mishkin (Ferrera) that puts their lives in danger. Both Paltrow and A’Zion give the film vulnerabilities and an inner still for Marty to empower himself in becoming a more mindful person; we see his character growth arise throughout the narrative.

“That doesn’t even enter my consciousness,” Marty says, as he refutes Kay’s question on what his backup plan is in case table tennis doesn’t pan out. Kay sees right through Marty, as she also holds the same type of narcissism as she aims to be relevant again on Broadway. Marty goes through such desperate lengths that he even deceives Kay, uses Rachel as a sidekick, and persuades his close friend Wally (Tyler Okonma), as Wally, a taxi driver, to help hustle novice table tennis players at their local bowling alley. The structure is episodic but always exhilarating, including the tennis-playing sequences and matches. The showdown with Chalamet’s titular character is his table tennis nemesis, Koto Endo, who is played by real-life deaf table tennis star Koto Kawaguchi. Their rivalry and bouts are expertly choreographed, and Kawauchi’s character and performance bring out some hidden humility that exists within Marty.

Courtesy A24 Films

All around, Marty Supreme is one electrifying piece of cinema. It’s a game changer in the sports movie genre. It’s a raucous rollercoaster that has elements of a caper movie and a gritty crime drama without ever feeling jarring or inconsistent. It evokes an experience of pure adrenaline with another masterful score by Daniel Lopatin. Safdie also takes the Sofia Coppola approach she utilized in Marie Antoinette by incorporating 80s new wave that indifferent to the early 1950s period takes place in. Safdie’s direction is speedy, resulting in a reverberant style, with a billowing sense of setting and pacing. The energy comes at you like a ping pong, leaving you feeling a sense of whiplash and eventually empathy for Marty’s pursuits. The film has a brilliant third act and a genuine payoff that is earned; it comes at you with a large wave of feeling. This is a sensational film; please prioritize this masterpiece.

GRADE A 

MARTY SUPREME OPENS WIDE IN THEATERS ON CHRISTMAS, DECEMBER 25th