Everybody wants to rule the world. Not everybody has what it takes. The truth is, greatness rarely goes to the good guy. In an individualistic society, success isn’t earned, it’s stolen. Marty Supreme is about a man who is either smart enough to know this or childish enough to believe it. (Warning: This article contains spoilers.)
Directed by Josh Safdie and set in the 1950s, the film follows Marty Mauser (loosely based on real-life table tennis star Marty Reismen), a self-centred opportunist and ping-pong prodigy chasing greatness. The film begins in New York, where Marty is a reluctant shoe salesman who has barely made enough money to travel and compete in the British Open in London. His ridiculous arrogance is impossible to miss: “I could sell shoes to an amputee!” We very quickly learn two things: that he is poor, and that he believes he is the best table tennis player in the world and is not about to let anything get in the way. When he doesn’t win, Marty does everything in his power to scrape together enough money for a second chance at besting Japanese national champion Koto Endo, the one man who beat him.
Marty (Timothee Chalamet) isn’t your typical sports hero; he’s insufferable, a liar, a hustler, a thief, and clearly someone you’re not supposed to cheer on. His willingness to climb over anyone and everyone to get to the top makes him a thoroughly unlikable person. And yet, his character also has the kind of skill and ambition that we celebrate. He’s both the dreamer who chases greatness with skill and determination and the fast talker who cuts corners to get ahead. The unlikely combination leaves us unsure whether we should root for his success or his seemingly inevitable downfall.
Safdie doesn’t hand us his theme on a silver platter. The movie’s ending is ambiguous. We never get a real answer. Despite his moral failures, Marty never does seem to get what’s coming to him. Marty exploits, threatens, and hurts the people around him—yet makes it all the way to Tokyo and, in a rematch against his rival, walks away with the win he wanted. The fact is, Marty wouldn’t have gotten as far by playing nice. All this begs the question: does Safdie condemn Marty’s actions, or applaud them?
Though it may not be completely straightforward, the film’s boldness is what makes it stand out. It may seem like a sports story. Don’t let it fool you. The fast-paced movie is refreshingly unpredictable, a rare quality in modern films. Its high stakes, constant motion, and sharp turns ricochet like a ping-pong match, leaving the audience out of breath. You won’t walk out in awe, but it lingers, more like an itch than a spectacle, making you think long after the credits roll to Tears for Fear’s “Everybody Wants to Rule the World.”
The film is deserving of its nine Oscar nominations, including Best Picture and Best Actor—if only because of its competence, which sets it apart from most modern films. Unlike the typical blockbuster, the movie isn’t under the delusion that feeding an audience what they want or expect will make it good. Even the soundtrack doesn’t rely on modern drivel just to be recognizable, favoring classic rock instead. Good films are a dying breed. Don’t give up the chance to watch something enjoyable in a theatre—it may not come around again.
