Marty Supreme

Grade: A

Marty Mauser sweet-talks, fast-talks, finagles, manipulates, and maneuvers his way through life. He gets a co-worker to give him $700 out of the safe. While participating in a ping-pong tournament overseas, he negotiates a better hotel situation (which was free, for him, to begin with). He telephones a married movie star he has never met, who is more than 20 years his senior – and by the end of the day, she goes to bed with him, after watching him play table tennis. If anyone can make it happen for himself, Marty can.

He’s played by Timothée Chalamet, in the best performance of a career that has had many varied high points. When writing about Wonka, I noted his penchant for playing charming, conniving salesmen, and that I hope Professor Harold Hill in The Music Man is in his future. He’s still too young to play him (he’ll turn 30 on December 27), but it needs to happen one day. Marty Supreme is set in the 1950s, yet director Josh Safdie (Uncut Gems) populates the film with 1980s needle-drops. They might not be accurate for the time period, but they are thrilling to hear and make perfect emotional sense. Daniel Lopatin’s score utilizes electric keyboards, setting a busy, frenetic tone.

The trailers and other ads may make it appear to be a traditional biopic about a ping-pong player, but that aspect doesn’t take up as much airtime as you might think. It’s more like an episodic character study. Marty gets himself in hot water, and has to wheel and deal his way out. This is definitely from the director of Uncut Gems, as everything is eventful and tense. The level to which everyone scrambles around almost makes it like a farce. I thought of Anora and One Battle After Another. Marty Supreme is better than every title I just named, and one of the best movies of the year. Even at 2 1/2 hours, the energy and momentum never lets up.

The aforementioned aging movie star is Kay Stone. She’s played by Gwyneth Paltrow, in her first non-Marvel feature film role in 10 years. It’s a triumphant return, and one-third of a trio of award-worthy performances. Impressing me equally as much is Odessa A’zion as Rachel, an old friend/neighbor of Marty’s, who becomes “with child” by him. The opening credits are a possible homage to Look Who’s Talking. But it’s Chalamet’s show. He begins as a shoe salesman – and as he says, he could sell shoes to an amputee. He’d try to throw in a pen, a custom ping-pong ball, and the Glengarry leads while he’s at it.

It’s exhilaratingly exhausting how we jump from adventure to adventure. You won’t believe who shows up in this cast. I don’t remember seeing a couple of them. The likes of Tyler the Creator, Fran Drescher, Sandra Bernhard, Abel Ferrara, David Mamet, and Penn Jillette drop in. At the top of the heap is Kevin O’Leary from Shark Tank, as Paltrow’s husband. He has never acted before, but is fantastic in a significant supporting role. Who knew he, of all people, had something like this in him? I’d liken it to Larry King – known as a journalist/talk show host – suddenly showing up as a character in Martin Scorsese’s Casino, and nailing it.

Sports movies that end with a crucial moment in a big game tend to use slow-motion, to bring home that last point/goal in an obvious way. Marty Supreme doesn’t do that. I was confused and frustrated because to my eyes, it looked like the last point had the opposite outcome. I give the film credit for making us pay attention and not holding our hand through it. I’ll grant that this may be on me, and a rewatch will clear it up. And I can’t wait to do so many times. The ending is appropriate, and reminds me of someone I know who had a similar life path. Marty Supreme has the construction and vibe of a Shakespeare history play – with a flawed lead, a slew of supporting roles weaving in and out, and a couple of strong female characters. I don’t love all of those plays, but I’m thinking of the people who eat all of that up no matter what. Now I know how they feel.

Grade: A