by Heath Lynch, Contributing Writer
Famed Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw once said, some oft debated variation of the phrase, “Youth is wasted on the young.” A simple but brash statement that succinctly proclaims a communal human sentiment which only grows more profound through lived experience and years of wisdom. Many different artists throughout the years have delivered their version of this idea before, in play, novel, film, or otherwise. Here, Josh Safdie gifts us his account of such a belief, and it truly is a gift indeed as Marty Supreme stands tall as one of the best, if not the best, film of the year.
Set in the wake of World War II, a young Marty Mauser (Timothée Chalamet), loosely based on the real-life, eccentric, Marty Reisman, sets out to prove himself as the world’s greatest table tennis player. Unfortunately, due to his financial position in life, and even more so due to his quirky, selfish, and uncaring behavior, Marty finds himself on the outside looking in as the World Table Tennis Championships are a month out and he’s not the belle of the ball on the guest list like he expected to be. So, against all odds Marty pursues a variety of schemes and hustles to try and get a plane ticket to Tokyo and prove to the world, his friends, and himself, he’s everything he always claimed he was. It’s too damn bad he keeps tripping over his own feet…
I’m not sure if self-sabotaging ambition, the false sense of youthful immortality, and reckless confidence has ever been so acutely articulated in film as it is throughout this chaotic epic. Safdie concludes his Trilogy of Anxiety following the same grimy alleyways that we walked down through Good Time and Uncut Gems, only this time around it’s presented with a 1980s synth-pop score atop the crusty underbelly of 1950s New York. With his editing partner in crime Ronald Bronstein still by his side, Safdie grabs us by the wrist and pulls us along, against our will, through a series of vignettes and horrible circumstances that eventually start eating themselves, as if this film was one giant ouroboros effect of bad decision and terrible consequences. Through the combination of Daniel Lopatin’s pulsating score, that emulates the dramatic “ping-pong’ing” effect, and the intense visuals of the bookended table tennis sequences, the movie breezes by, despite the two hours and thirty minute runtime. All this to say, Safdie is on top of his game, and his crew is right there with him, putting together a firecracker picture that flies by at a breakneck pace. Even if you struggle with anxiety, uncertainty, and uncomfortable situations, it’s all delivered so cleverly and entertainingly throughout this experience that you won’t even mind watching the car crash into the brick wall, even though you see it coming.
That’s the feel of watching this movie, in a nutshell.
It all ties together to deliver a beautiful and relatable message that only becomes more relatable with age and experience. Sure, you could absolutely watch this in your 20s and laugh along as you watch Marty increasingly fall victim to his own pride, as more and more of his shenanigans spiral out of control. But I submit that Safdie made this film for all the adults who survived their 20s. Those who could look back in the rear-view mirror and assess the carnage in their wake. Pondering, “Damn, wouldn’t it be great to go back and do all that again, knowing what I know now?” While simultaneously having the wisdom to immediately slap themselves in the face for thinking such foolishness. Thinking, “Holy crap, why would I ever want to go back and do that again? That was hell. It would be disastrous. Thank God I survived.” To strike such a balance is a tightrope walking act that very few would ever try, yet Safdie pulls it off here with mastery. You sit and watch this movie, and you crave your youth. Your lack of caution, frivolous ambition, wild ideas, non-existent responsibility, and overwhelming sense of freedom to drive off into the night and do whatever your heart desires… While sitting there laughing at all the stupidity, knowing better, seeing all the problems from a mile away and how they could’ve been avoided. If Shaw said youth was wasted on the young, Safdie proclaims, “Youth is for the young, and adulthood is for laughing at them.”
The experience and message of Marty Supreme comes full circle with its true bookends. Not the aforementioned table tennis matches, no. But the hilarious opening credits, insemination sequence that leads to a reality shattering birth at the end of our film’s tale nine months later. It’s in this moment that Safdie hits us with the sledgehammer. That all of our decisions in this world, and all the things that we think are so important in our late teens and up through our mid-20s, pale in comparison to the real-world responsibilities that await us as we grow up and mature, particularly as it pertains to parenthood. Whether you are emotionally crippled with regret and depression, or optimistically uplifted by hope and joyous wonderment, there’s nothing more universe changing than seeing your own child brought into the world, knowing that your life will never be the same. It’s nature’s greatest humbling moment, and Safdie aces this most crucial serve.
For all the acclaim I’m throwing at Safdie though, just as much needs to be thrown at Chalamet, especially for this final sequence. Channeling his very best Call Me by Your Name memories, Chalamet delivers another instantly iconic, prolonged, relentless crying into the final credits sequence to really hammer home the impact of this film’s messaging, culminating the viewing experience of watching such a masterpiece. That’s just one of the many scenes in which he is excellent. To put it bluntly, this is a defining performance for Chalamet, maybe the best he’s ever been in his young but impressive career. He is the anchor for this whirlwind adventure where everything that can go wrong will go wrong. You will revel in all of his debauchery and insanity along the way as he channels such intense passion, both in his romantic aspirations and his profession, to the point of obsession. Chalamet manages to both ground the stakes for the entire story, while also being eccentric and over-the-top enough to heighten the experience. It makes the whole story feel like a twisted, whimsical fantasy. Even due to the composition and structure of the film, with its ‘50s setting, ‘80s musical score, and modern 2020s style of filmmaking, Chalamet, with his flippant line-readings and exaggerated body language, is able to make Marty feel like a man outside of time itself. You love watching him just as much as you love watching a messy reality TV show, as you recognize he’s a completely insufferable, selfish, prick and you just want to see what dastardly misgivings he gets caught up in next. But it’s that exact contradiction that makes Marty such a compelling character and Chalamet’s performance so noteworthy. By all rights we should not be rooting for this guy, but against all odds, Chalamet has us in his corner.
But it’s not just Safdie and Chalamet holding down the fort. I am happy to report that there are a bunch of terrific supporting and cameo roles throughout this film. It’s very interesting that this is the year the Academy Awards will start handing out an Oscar for a brand new category, Best Casting. I’ll just say it, whether or not Marty Supreme is nominated for this will really show us devoted moviegoers and fans of film’s laborious awards season, how seriously they are going to take this new category. By all intents and purposes, this nomination should be a given. Gwyneth Paltrow, Odessa A’zion, Abel Ferrara, and I regret to inform you, even Kevin O’Leary, are tremendous in their supporting efforts. An argument could be made that these are very one-dimensional characters, and that a lot of these characters are being played by actors who are just playing themselves, but that doesn’t make the performances any less profound. Paltrow is the once former movie starlet who has lost the spotlight and is trying to cling on to something that once was. Ferrera is the grotesque and grungy mobster who clearly has a lot of seediness under the surface. O’Leary is exactly what he proclaims to be – A corporate vampire. A bloodsucker of the highest order who drains the life and passion out of anyone he comes into contact with as he steam rolls anyone in his path on his way to greater power and wealth.
For me, it’s A’zion who feels like the most complete character outside of Marty. Maybe that’s because… she is Marty. A schemer and con artist in her own right, she is just as likely to help Marty with a scam as she is to scam Marty herself, which is a big part of what makes their dynamic throughout the film so interesting as they push and pull towards and against one another. They are so attracted to each other because they’re so similar, but they’re also repulsed by one another because of who they are at their core. Other tremendous supporting efforts by Fran Drescher, Emory Cohen, Penn Jillette, Koto Kawaguchi, Luke Manley, and Tyler the Creator in what is sneakily my favorite supporting performance of the film, help to round out this cast and make this movie something truly special.
I could give this flick no greater compliment than to say this was like taking The Hustler and blending it with The King of Comedy, and I enjoyed every second of it. The way Paul Newman approaches pool, hustling, wanting to be the best, wanting to be respected, and wanting to be immortalized perfectly blends with Robert De Niro’s delusions of grandeur, false sense of infallibility, complete misunderstanding of responsibilities, and how much he wants fame and riches. Marty Mauser is ‘Fast’ Eddie Felson just as much as he’s Rupert Pupkin. But, in an uplifting twist of fate, I might like Marty more than either of these two legendary characters because Marty, against all odds, comes out on top with a happy ending. Sure, he never achieved his goals and ambitions, he’s still an asshole, and it’s unclear if he’s capable of handling the newfound responsibility of fatherhood, but the true realization at the end of the movie is how your goals and ambitions change throughout time. What mattered once before might not matter ever again as your focus shifts and adapts. Seeing Marty Mauser break down into tears at the sight of his son at the end of this movie only leaves me, a parent, remembering the cataclysmic emotional shift in my own life when children were brought into my world. It’s a surreal and beautiful experience perfectly symbolizing the end of childhood and the beginning of adulthood, and I love how it’s captured here.
From the ‘50s setting and the exquisite art direction that brought it to life, to the corresponding costumes that make the era feel so lived in, to this hypnotizing score that is worth listening to over and over, as well as the incredible needle drops “Forever Young” by Alphaville and “Everybody Wants to Rule the World” by Tears for Fears, the fast pacing and sharp editing that matches in intensity, Safdie’s impressive direction, Chalamet’s tour de force performance, the large ensemble cast, the pitch-perfect script and wild narrative, and everything in between, this film doesn’t miss. Even having never given a damn about table tennis in my entire life, I’m prepared to rewatch this film for the rest of my days. Marty Supreme is an instant classic, a masterpiece, and it deserves to be watched, rewatched, analyzed, and showered with praise for years to come.
Youth may be wasted on the young. That’s probably true. But every so often it’s great to have a work of art come out that reminds us all what it was like to be young and stupid, while also showing us why we should be thankful for what was born out of that stupidity.
Rating: Loved It
Marty Supreme is currently playing in theaters
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