What a picture! Who knew that a fictitious biopic about a table tennis player’s desire to be the best would not only be so captivating but so stressful, and yet Josh Safdie expectedly delivers.
- Director – Josh Safdie
- Runtime 150 minutes
- Certificate – 15
- Country – United States
Following the Safdie formula this film is having a panic attack visualised. While I don’t think this is as stressful as Uncut Gems, I do think that here it is perfected. Brilliant balance between stress and surprisingly humorous. Some really good jokes that genuinely made my screening gasp at times due to how outrageous they were.
Structurally it’s very similar to an actual table tennis game. Extremely high octane, rapid and energetic. However there are times where the film slows down and takes a minute for the character to digest what just happened but then it immediately goes back to being nonstop.
Combining the fast paced narrative and the stress of it all makes guessing what happens next almost impossible – that bathtub scene had my jaw on the floor. While I do love the erratic nature of the film I felt it did hinder it slightly (which I have same problem for Uncut Gems), because so much happens in such short time frames, it does give the illusion that more time has passed than it actually has.
Marty Mouser (Timothée Chalamet), what a character. An interesting character study into obsession, narcissism, a desire to be the best but to me and most importantly – addiction. With these themes in mind it’s only natural to truly see how good Timothée Chalamet is in this role. Good is an understatement.
It is undoubtedly his best performance and if he doesn’t win that Oscar, I’ll riot.
This is his passion project and again you can see why. The two definitely share similarities in their passion and desire to be great and the way he slips into this character is so seamless. The arc he goes through took me by surprise too. I was half expecting an ending similar to Uncut Gems but it isn’t. It is kind of hard to describe this without spoiling the ending and the final match but I do think I liked it – especially since the directors own journey while writing influenced it.
Speaking of the final match. My heart was racing. I didn’t even know who to root for – Marty is obviously a flawed person who doesn’t really deserve to win and yet and I can’t help myself from feeling a bit happy whenever he got a point. And then you have Endo (Koto Kawaguchi) who doesn’t need the win as much as Marty and yet his stoic nature is tremendous.
What adds so much of the tension is the score. It is astounding. Daniel Lopatin I will forever sing your praise and Ludwig Göransson may just have competition. The 80s coded synths somehow complements the 50s extremely well and creates some of the most palpitating music this year but also calming on some tracks. The flute on ‘The Apple’ is heavenly.
All of the cast are working at their best – Odessa A’zion (Rachel Mizler) has taken the world by storm on this press tour and rightfully so, she gives a wonderful performance mirroring Marty. Gwyneth Paltrow (Kay Stone) obviously is great too, serving as this sort of muse for Marty pushing him to better. Tyler, the creator, Okonma (Wally) works with Chalamet so incredibly well – they just bounce off of each other so naturally. I better see a Rock/Hart type of run from them.
And Koto Kawaguchi – wow what a performance by him. Not a single line of dialogue spoken and he is a standout in every one of his scenes. His mirroring of not only Marty but also America, especially in the 50s. Marty representing the American dream and doing whatever it takes whereas he’s built on humility and patience.
I want to go back to the theme of addiction because I really love how this handles it. Although it is made clear that Marty is a deeply flawed character who will step over anyone so long as it benefits him, it also shows that he is a victim in a way. Not being able to help yourself even when it’s destroying the world around you.
The paddle scene, as weird as it is, demonstrates this. He knows that doing this is wrong and that he probably shouldn’t, but he does it anyway just for the smallest chance he goes to Japan even if it means being humiliated. He even acknowledges that Rockwell (Kevin O’Leary) may not uphold his end of the deal and he takes that chance. The way it’s then used at the end is really beautiful.
Marty Supreme is an exhilarating and fast paced ride that perfectly reflects the game of table tennis. And with its career defining performances, booming score, beautifully written and rich themes, and surprising humour at times, it is very hard to deny this as one of the years best – even after only one day (well in the UK at least).
Marty Supreme is now playing at the Lockworks.