Run Timmy Run!! - My Review of Josh Safdie's MARTY SUPREME

If I may be completely candid right off the bat, I have started this review no less than 4 times and erased everything that I typed up. You could argue that I am at a loss for words and that isn't too far from the truth.

I am not here to say that Marty Supreme is a masterpiece, but there are elements about it that still make it feel like a masterpiece. I will go through some of the issues I have with them film, but even in the grand scheme, they aren't detrimental. 

This is one of those films where I do think it is best to go in as blind as possible, but I will go ahead and give you the basic setup so I can start to dig into my thoughts on the absolute odyssey that this film is.

Set mostly in 1952 New York, we follow a very cocksure 23 year old named Marty Mouser (Timothee Chalamet) who has a dream to be a world famous and highly renowned Table Tennis player. He is working as a shoe salesman at a store owned by his uncle, but he not surprisingly feels this is beneath him. What he really wants is the money he needs to travel to London for the British Open to beat the defending champion Bela Kletzki (Geza Rohrig) so the prize can be brought home to America. 

However, it is clear that Marty is a young man who is on a war path and that the people in his life either can't trust him or they still love him as much as they maybe wish they didn't. He is a man who knows what he wants, does what he can to pursue it, and frankly feels he is entitled to those rewards.

He is, to quote Timothee Chalamet's SAG speech for his A Complete Unknown win, "in pursuit of greatness"...which makes one wonder: is Chalamet putting on an act?

This blitz of a campaign funded by A24 has had Chalamet coming off as insufferable, maybe even more so in some ways, than Marty Mouser. He has repeatedly stated how he hated losing the Oscar this past year to Adrien Brody for The Brutalist (my vote would've been for Colman Domingo in Sing Sing); continuing that thought process, he will add that he has been given great roles and doing great work and that none of us should be taking him for granted. 

Needless to say, if this is an act, it is a bit precarious BUT...I think this is the performance that will potentially solidify Chalamet as the actor of his generation.

I have always acknowledged that he had charisma and was an intriguing presence, but I never felt myself wowed by him. I will stand stand on the hill proclaiming that Call Me By Your Name was bafflingly overrated and while I do think he did do a good job in A Complete Unknown, it didn't leave me feeling that impressed beyond maybe some of the technical aspects of it.

I wouldn't be shocked if Marty Mouser becomes as synonymous with him as something like Jordan Belfort has for DiCaprio in The Wolf of Wall Street when it comes to great antihero roles...although Belfort is diabolical in different ways that are more unforgivable.

A lead character with despicable qualities can ruin a film for some, but in order to succeed, they have to be written well, guided well by the director, and you need an actor who can land the plane with those blueprints. Timothee Chalamet did that here, and while I wouldn't consider it to be "peak cinema" acting, I do see this as a strong performance that would be worthy of awards consideration.

Marty Mouser says and does some heinous things and yet at times, you find yourselves both rooting for him and also enjoying anytime he gets put in his place. It is particularly hard to watch him deal with his childhood friend and neighbor Rachel (Odessa A'zion) with whom is also sleeping with despite her being married. We also have Marty becoming obsessed with Kay Stone (Gwyneth Paltrow), a former actress who married a rich businessman named Milton (Kevin O'Leary????) and is clearly feeling no love for him...and despite being a bit of a thorn in both of their sides, these two do take something of a morbid fascination with him.

The casting of Kevin O'Leary as Milton Rockwell is perhaps one of the things I take issue with. On one hand, I don't think it ruins the film on any fundamental level because O'Leary IS Milton. After years honing the idea of "screen presence" on Shark Tank, it shows that he can at least be effective within his wheelhouse. I will say that O'Leary's comments about how Safdie should've used AI in crowd scenes to save money only add to the vitriol I have for him being in this.

As for the other two ladies I mentioned, it also seems very meta to have Gwyneth Paltrow in a film where she is playing a former actress who decides to make a comeback...albeit on stage like her character does here. Paltrow is someone who is primarily known for being the head of GOOP, but a lot film people still remember her rather infamous Oscar win for Shakespeare in Love and her truly grating acceptance speech where she cried to the point of being incoherent and seemingly putting off her mother Blythe Danner in the audience. 

However, her work here is rather lovely. I am not sure if I would necessarily nominate her for an Oscar but I do think she should be more in the conversation.

Speaking of being more in the conversation, if there is someone from this film that deserves to be nominated for an acting Oscar that isn't Chalamet, it is Odessa A'zion.

I had no familiarity with her prior to this film and didn't realize she is Pamela Adlon's daughter. As Rachel, she truly brings it and is a literal firecracker who holds her own against Chalamet onscreen. Even if she may not have an abundance of screentime, she makes the most of every minute onscreen and it is remarkable to watch her adapt to all of the lunacy that unfolds. She should be an easy Best Supporting Actress contender, but as of this writing, she is seen as a dark horse contender for even a nomination. I really hope that changes.

The truth is that it isn't really surprising that a lot of the supporting players wouldn't gain traction because most of the cast doesn't get significant screentime to shine, but whenever they are onscreen, they do good work. I wouldn't be shocked if this film wins the inaugural Best Casting Oscar because, ignoring the Kevin O'Leary of it all, you wouldn't imagine seeing this kind of cast assembled and yet it works so well!

You have Fran Drescher as Marty's mother, Sandra Bernhard as their neighbor, Penn Jillette as...a character I don't want to spoil, Isaac Mizrahi as Kay's publicist, Emery Cohen as Rachel's brutish husband, and perhaps the one who made the best impression of the smaller supporting cast: Tyler the Creator as Marty's cabbie friend Wally that is also very skilled at Table Tennis.

While I would've loved to see more of, let's say, Fran Drescher as Marty's mother, I do wish we got more of Tyler's Wally because his screen presence is so fun and joyous but he is also one of the character's we come across where when we watch his respond to the careless actions of Marty, you feel the exhaustion despite the fact it is clear he still loves the guy. 

Between this and also A$AP Rocky in If I Had Legs I'd Kick You, we have had a quite a year with rappers turning in very good work who hold their own against stellar performances opposite them.

As I wrap up here, I just want to leave you with a few general thoughts and vibes that Marty Supreme left me with. 

Does the film maybe go on a tad too long? Perhaps. I think Safdie and Ronald Bronstein (who co-wrote and edited this along with the other Safdie films) could've trimmed a little bit off of the film just to move it along a slightly quicker pace in some scenes but to be honest, so much of this film pulsates to the nth degree.

I have heard some criticisms that the film doesn't try to dig in too deeply to Marty's backstory, but honestly, the film clearly doesn't care much and neither does the character of Marty. There is a scene where he is flat out asked about his past and he mockingly tells the press a story that feels like one of those crazy origin stories that Hollywood studios would give their contract players in the 1930s. The script is honestly fantastic and I would fully support it winning Original Screenplay.

Like I stressed before, this is a film that I think needs to be enjoyed with as a little knowledge of the plot as possible. I tried my best to keep it at a minimum here, but I would love for people to check it out because I would love to hear all of the reactions to it. 

That pulsation is palpable and when you add in the truly epic musical score by Daniel Lopatin...actually wait...how have I not brought up this score yet???? Lopatin's synth-heavy score is so insanely effective and fits the whole aesthetic of the film which is even more surprising considering it sounds like something straight out of the 80s when the film is set in the early 50s. 

It is also a visually stunning film with such a dark, rich color palate and a lot of the shots staged by Safdie and filmed by cinematographer Darius Khondji felt instantly classic. I would love to see both of them receive Oscar nods for their work. 

Truthfully, I hope Marty Supreme gets many nods on Oscar nomination morning because it deserves that kind of recognition...but to get a tad cheesy for a moment if I may, I just want to add this.

I may not be giving Marty Supreme a perfect score today, but I do think it comes somewhat close. I think it is a great example of a film that might have a couple issues in feeling a smidge bloated at times while also having the likes of Kevin O'Leary in it...oh and right-wing playwright David Mamet is in this...I didn't catch that at first. Oh how far that man has fallen...but I digress.

Each year, there are films that we are all going to love but there are some that ignite a passion within you for one reason or another. While watching Marty Supreme, I couldn't help but feel like I was being jolted to life. It is so sweeping in its scope and manages to bring that electric energy of films like Good Time and Uncut Gems to a whole other time period and makes it work without feeling the least bit bizarre.

Oh, and here's a little Easter Egg for you to ponder on if you haven't seen it yet: Not since Look Who's Talking... ;-)

Simply put, Marty Supreme is the kind of film that makes me remember why I love this artform in the first place...and I am excited to watch it again.

MARTY SUPREME

Rating: 9.5/10