Introduction
If you haven’t heard of Josh Safdie’s latest film, Marty Supreme, then you’d better mentally prepare yourself. For the next few weeks, months, and years, this film will be the subject of every awful movie podcast and film-bro discourse.
From the guys who love the violence of American Psycho (2000), who missed the satire of Fight Club (1999), and worship at the feet of Jordan Belfort from The Wolf of Wall Street (2013), comes their inevitable admiration of Marty Mauser and his scumbag hustle. That’s not to say the film is without merit, any more than the previously mentioned films. In fact, there are plenty of aspects to admire greatly. As long as you realize what you are watching is not something to aspire to, the experience can be quite rewarding.
Synopsis
Safdie has a well-established history of scumbag protagonists trying to achieve their goals, so this is decidedly his wheelhouse. Between Good Time (2017) and Uncut Gems (2019), the filmmaker loves to focus on a deeply flawed lead character who will lie, deceive, and betray anything and anyone to get what he wants. The real question: Does Safdie think his characters are something to aspire to? He has such admiration for him as a character that it’s hard to tell if he wants you to root for the guy or not.
Marty Mauser (an exceptional Timothée Chalamet) has little to no redeeming qualities, outside of spunk. Yes, he is an exceptional ping pong player in 1950s New York. However, that’s where the good things about him end.
He barely cares about his job as a shoe salesman, he is sleeping with his childhood friend Rachel (Odessa A’zion, a true revelation), and he spends every moment of his spare time scheming to get to the US Ping Pong championship. Between gangsters, collapsing bathtubs, crazy dogs, busted taxis, and impending pregnancies, Marty lets nothing get in his way as he hustles his way to the top of the emerging sport.
The Complex Protagonist
Why is he so captivating? Pretty much solely because Chalamet is the performer he is. This is the classic Tony Soprano/Walter White character, where the entertainment value and acting prowess overcome the obvious character faults.
If you think about absolutely anything Marty does for the great majority of the film, it is nothing less than deplorable. Part of Marty’s scheming to get to the Ping Pong World Championships involves his affair with former actress and socialite Kay Stone (Gwyneth Paltrow) and his attempts to cozy up to Kay’s wealthy husband, Milton Rockwell (Kevin O’Leary). Just when things begin to go right, Marty makes a terrible decision and spins things in the wrong direction.
In the modern era of hustle culture, Marty Mauser stands to be a beacon of aspiration. For those social media influencers who claim to sleep only 3 hours a night and ignore their children for the sake of potential millions in business, this is exactly who they want to be. Those viewers certainly won’t see how pathetic Marty and all his scheming end up being.
Even at the film’s conclusion, it is not a character transformation where Marty is going to be okay. Nothing about anything we watch assumes he will continue to make the right decisions. But, those of us with a few more brain cells can still greatly enjoy watching Marty dig himself into deeper and deeper holes, hoping the next Hail Mary rescues him from the depths.
Performances
Few performers can do what Chalamet does in the role. His one-of-a-kind energy and delivery perfectly suit what Safdie wants to do. Complete with a pencil-thin mustache, an unending energy, and pure will to achieve, Marty feels like the role Chalamet was born to play.
However poorly Marty comes across on screen, Chalamet comes across with nothing but acclaim. A’zion gives my favorite performance of the film. Initially assumed to be a wounded flower, she springs into action when Marty’s needs call for it. She is able to take agency of her own choices when she realizes Marty doesn’t have her best interests at heart. She is nothing short of utterly captivating at every moment.
This film also serves as a welcome return to form for Paltrow. It’s a touch on the nose having Paltrow portray a former movie star, but she wears the prior experience and the pain of reality very well. It’s her best performance in years.
The rest of the film is oddly overcast, with Fran Drescher showing up as Marty’s mom, Tyler, the Creator as Marty’s buddy, Sandra Bernhard as one of Marty’s neighbors, director Abel Ferrara as a criminal, and even Penn Jillette as a random farmer. Each cameo is odder than the next, but then those cameos turn into full-fledged supporting roles. Even the stunt-casting of O’Leary turns into the character we see more than anyone besides Marty and Rachel.
Conclusion
Marty Supreme has a lot going for it, just don’t be surprised when the worst film bro you know keeps telling you how it’s a modern-day masterpiece.
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