– J – H
We’re bouncing back and forth like a PINGPONG GAME!
ITS ALWAYS BEEN TABLE TENNIS
We were lucky enough to be invited to the Red Carpet Premiere of this film because of our recent partnership with the Krampus Film Festival. We were honored to be considered filmmakers worthy of attending such a prestigious event, but unfortunately, we had to decline so we could watch it from the comfort of our home theatre.
We usually go for our personal theatre because it is the only movie theatre that can play 1000mm film prints. The only movies in that format are” Marty Supreme,” “Inception,” and “Lilo and Stitch” (2025), but we are hoping for more!
SAFDIE’S SWEEP!
“Marty Supreme” follows the titular Marty, who is one of, if not the greatest table tennis player in the world, and his foibles and schemes to get the money to send himself to Japan to enter the table tennis world championships.
Anybody who knows anything about anything knows that Julian Solimo loves the Safdie Brothers! For years now I’ve worshipped these guys and followed their work litigiously. Following their career so closely makes a moment like this tickle my fanboy-chum-chum brain as Josh Safdie might have released the biggest and boldest movie of 2025.
Definitely the biggest and boldest: with a 70 million dollar budget, it’s A24’s most expensive production ever, beating “Civil War” by about 20 million dollars. It’s even crazier when considering that “Uncut Gems” cost only 19 million to make.
Despite everything, it’s still Safdie. This movie kind of goes against the formula of their past work. Despite this featuring Tyler Okonma’s first film performance, the Safdies usually work with only one major Hollywood actor. The Safdies are well known for street-casting and hiring non-actors to capture a true sense of reality that speaks to their work. Their film, “Heaven Knows What,” is a great example of this as the only reason it was made was because Josh Safdie ran into Ariel Holmes accidentally while location scouting for Uncut Gems. Ariel Holmes was a homeless heroin-addict living in NYC who Josh started having weekly meet-ups, and eventually convinced her to write a book about her experiences. Her book “Mad Love in N.Y.C.” laid the groundwork for their film “Heaven Knows What.” But it’s interesting to see Josh dig his fists into this star-studded cast featureing the likes of Timothee Chalamet, Tyler the Creator, the guy from Shark Tank!! You’re pulling my leg! This is undoubtedly Josh Safdie’s grandest movie, in scale, budget, and spectacle.
As good as it was… I don’t think I liked this movie as much as most people did. There was a vibe that I can’t quite place that really irks me. I really enjoyed most of it; there are great moments like the shootout, the gas station scene, the table tennis matches, the scene where Marty takes a paddle to the rear (ironically the most symbolic scene of the film). Contrary to what most people believe, I really don’t think that Timothee Chalamet was super great. Much like my opinion of the rest of the film, there are moments where he shines, and moments where I feel like he is reading off a script. Particularly in a scene very early in the film, where Marty calls an ex-movie star that he has taken a shine to. For whatever reason he just comes off as the most unstudied, unsophisticated actor, just saying the lines to get them over with. I mean what do I know. I do not have a single foot in the acting space, but I seriously think that he was not the greatest “Oscar bait” actor that everyone has said he is.
I enjoyed him thoroughly. I never was really that crazy about him; although, he was really funny being the worst person ever in Lady Bird. But I thought in this he genuinely did a phenomenal job. I thought the interaction on the phone in the beginning was intentionally punctual, as he’s obviously been rehearsing what he’s gonna say to Gwyneth Paltrow’s character. A lot of his dialogue is very “rehearsed” sounding and fast paced which makes sense as his character is constantly trying to cheat people out of whatever money they can give him. A large part of this movie is him running around 1950s New York in order to raise $1,500 for a plane ticket to Japan. So we see him pawning, stealing, and hustling these mean streets willing to do anything in order to get to his game. We see how he manipulates Kay, his love interest Rachael, his own mother, and anybody who gets in his path. He’s quick and manipulative, so of course his dialogue is going to sound fast-paced and scripted. He’s literally broke, homeless, and NEEDS to get to play-ping pong. Of course, he’s gonna talk a little weird. What do you call a competitive table tennis player who just broke up with his girlfriend?
What?
Hopeless.
I think that my main issue was that the film never truly feels like it takes place in the 50s. They have these huge expensive sets, but then Chalamet in particular just acts as if it’s the modern day. Now, I was never alive in the 50s, BUT… I sure have seen a lot of movies, news broadcasts, and music, and I KNOW that these people do not talk like it’s the fifties. I think I would have been overall more immersed had more effort been put into the writing and research of the time period. I am sure that days and days of research were put into the real Marty, Marty Reisman.
He is the last true 50s guy!! I dont mind it. I think in this instance the setting is just a backdrop, and it doesn’t really have that much bearing on the plot. A big thematic part of Marty’s character is that he is a man beyond his time. He’s revolutionizing an era of a new sport while fighting against old money and big suits who don’t value somebody trying to escape from a tiny apartment in the lower east side. I will agree that the atmosphere of this movie is great.
The sets were very nice I liked looking at them…
Every environment has so much personality and the sets are genuinely impressive. I can’t gloss over the composer for this film, Daniel Lopatin. This super genius also did the score for “Uncut Gems” and “Good Time” (a film in my Letterboxd top 4)! This dude is so unbelievably good at getting these psychedelically pounding scores that resemble the paranoia filled synths of 80s classics. His score seamlessly amplifies the moments of intense action and athletic achievements, all while creating contemplative and dreamy soundscapes for the quieter, more character focused moments.
To expand on my point, this movie lends itself so much to cinema of the 50-80s. I specifically noticed tropes of gangster films, sports movies, noirs. I mean, you got the evil scary gangster who takes Marty’s pregnant (ex?) girlfriend. You got the not so subtle “Rocky” influence, and Marty’s ever-present McGuffin that he and his pregnant girlfriend are constantly vying for. With all this genre influence you would think that the movie magic of it all would win me over; however, I was not completely impressed. I feel like around the midpoint of the film the story goes on some strange tangents that do not really contribute to much, as Marty gains and loses the money he is hunting for over and over again. Aside from contributing to the idea that Marty is becoming increasingly desperate and stooping to lower and lower means to procure money for his flight, I feel like they could be removed without the film changing much. Because of this, I feel like the film could have been tighter. This movie really feels like two hours and thirty minutes. I feel like the mark of an enthralling film is when a two hour film feels like thirty minutes. This is a hard thing to achieve, being able to alter time in the viewer’s eyes so that they feel as if they have not spent the time the film demands. However, a film like Marty Supreme, it really demands it.
I really like the running theme of the “performer.” One of Marty’s first interactions with Gwyneth Paltrow’s character, Kay, revolves around their shared passion for “performance.” Kay’s character is somebody who yearns to be back in the spotlight, something Marty trivializes, ironic as his actions for the rest of the film mirror this. But the idea of Marty being a “performer” is one of the strongest parts of this movie for me. This theme follows Marty around the film, as he struggles between his life as Marty Mauser and his dreams as Marty Supreme. There are a bunch of super cool small ways of exploring this like Marty not knowing the difference between costume jewelry and real diamonds; or Marty understanding an actor’s character more than the actual actor. He insists his anger is a result of a “character” for audience entertainment; we see him effortlessly jump from place to place while putting on the disguise of whatever version of Marty he needs to get a couple bucks in his pocket.
I think that Marty is a big buffoon and I wanted him to “git what’s comin to him.”
Game Point. This movie was cool and you should see it. That’s really it. I didn’t love it as much as other Safdie movies but I still have a lot of respect and admiration for Josh Safdie and the crew who put together a movie that was so genuinely better than all the other slop we’ve gotten this year. 2025 was really lackluster and we had to sit through another god awful “Wicked” movie. “Marty Supreme” was a really fun and fast-paced ping-pong movie and I thoroughly enjoyed it. If I had to leave you with anything, I’d tell you to watch more Safdie movies. “Good Time” is one of the best movies I’ve ever seen and one of my biggest artistic influences; I pray one day it gets its own review. “Daddy Longlegs,” “Heaven Knows What,” and “Uncut Gems” are all phenomenal in their own right and you owe it to yourself to give them a watch.
I thought “Marty Supreme” was the best movie of the year, that is not a tall order considering the lack of good movies that came out this year. I think the only movie that might dethrone “Marty Supreme” is “One Battle After Another” which I have not seen. Maybe I will watch it…
6/10 Marty ball.
I give it 2 pings outta pong!
