Marty Supreme
It’s interesting how both Safdie brothers, in their first films they’ve directed solo, have chosen for their subjects sports-themed movies to make. Bennie made “The Smashing Machine” with Dewayne Johnson earlier in the film- which is very much inspired by a true story- while Josh has chosen a sprawling drama about a table tennis player who’s trying make his way into the championships. It’s loosely inspired by the life of Marty Reisman, but his on-screen avatar- played by Timothée Chalamet- has similar beats in his life, but it’s a life all its own that unfolds in a matter of weeks.
Chalamet plays Marty Mauser, and he is a terrific table tennis player who works at his uncle’s shoe store in 1980s New York. It’s in the shoe store we first see him when a young woman, Rachel (Odessa A’zion), comes in. They sneak away and have sex. Cut to eight months later. Marty is in the British Open of table tennis, and he’s playing a renowned player from Japan…and he loses. During this event, Marty’s life begins to unravel, even before the loss. He loses it on an official about his accomodations for the event. He meets a famed actress, Kay Stone (Gwyneth Paltrow), who’s married to an ink magnat. And his dreams of greatness are dashed. When he gets back to the States, his focus is entirely about getting into the championships to face Endo, the Japanese champion, again, but like Howard Ratner, Adam Sandler’s character is the Safdie’s “Uncut Gems,” he just is unable to check his ego, and do what he needs to do to accomplish his goals.
When I call “Marty Supreme” a sprawling drama, I’m referring primarily to its 2 1/2 hour running time. Because so much of it happens in New York, London and a brief layover in Japan, it’s really not that sprawling in terms of the narrative. Yes, we get a montage of Marty playing table tennis on tour with the Globetrotters, but otherwise, there’s nothing big about Marty’s story- it’s all very contained. We see him dealing with his mother (Fran Drescher), and trying to do what he can to not be a manager for his uncle’s store. During the main time period of the story, Rachel is pregnant, though he refuses to believe it’s his; she is married, after all. He gets his friend, Wally (Tyler the Creator), involved with hustles involving table tennis and a rich man’s dog. And he beds Kay while disrespecting her husband’s attempt to give him a chance to get back to face Endo. There’s a lot of chaos in “Marty Supreme,” but not a lot of feeling. It all seems to be a case of making things as complicated as possible, without really finding an emotional throughline. I know, at the end, we’re supposed to feel like Marty is having this profound moment of awareness, but what in the previous 2 1/2 hours leads us to seem like he’s earned that. His selfishness almost destroys a lot of lives. Chalamet is very good in the role, but I didn’t find myself as engaged with this story as I did Bennie’s “Smashing Machine” or “Uncut Gems.” Maybe a tighter focus in story and running time might have benefitted this film.
