By Jack Shanley

In the chaotic, neon-veined world of Josh Safdie’s Marty Supreme, the humblest of sports—table tennis—is elevated to a high-stakes blood sport. It is a film that breathes with a frantic, jittery energy, feeling less like a traditional biopic and more like a two-hour-long panic attack that you somehow never want to end.
At the centre of this whirlwind is Timothée Chalamet, who delivers a performance so kinetic it feels like he’s physically vibrating off the screen. Playing Marty Mauser, a fictionalized version of the real-life ping-pong hustler Marty Reisman, Chalamet sheds his usual “boyish charm” for something far more jagged. He is a man possessed by a singular, borderline-delusional ambition: to make the world respect a game played with celluloid balls and wooden paddles.

Working for the first time without his brother Benny, Josh Safdie proves his solo voice is just as loud and uncompromising. The film is set in a grimy, tactile 1950s New York, but it’s scored with anachronistic 80s synth-pop and edited with a modern, “grind set” ferocity. It’s a sensory overload that perfectly mirrors Marty’s internal state. He is a hustler, a salesman, and—at times—a deeply frustrating narcissist who treats his loved ones like obstacles to be bypassed.

The supporting cast is nothing but fantastic. We see great performances all round but especially from Gwyneth Paltrow and Tyler, the Creator.

What makes Marty Supreme linger is its refusal to apologize for its protagonist. Marty is not a “hero” in the classic sense; he is a man who steals from his uncle and neglects his pregnant girlfriend (Odessa A’zion) to chase a trophy in London or a match in Japan. In a sense he’s essentially the ultimate ‘antihero’.
The film asks a difficult question: Does greatness require a level of selfishness that verges on the sociopathic? By the time the credits roll to a pulsing needle drop, you might not like Marty, but you’ve been thoroughly seduced by his momentum. It’s a messy, loud, and brilliantly original piece of cinema that captures the “American Dream” not in a romantic fantasy way, but as a relentless, sweaty, and singular obsession.

I’d recommend checking out ‘Marty Supreme’ and see what you think of it; I shall give it a score of FOUR Stars. You can go check it out at your local cinema today. Director Josh Safdie – Rating: 15A – Genre: Sport/Drama – Run Time: 2h 29m Language: English. For more film content please follow @movies4fanatics on Instagram.