from the series Movie Corner…
2025
4.5/5 Stars
Drama/Sport/Romance/Thriller/Period Piece
A24
By HOWARD MCQUITTER II
Josh Safdie’s film Marty Supreme is about a young man’s feverish passion to be the best ping pong player in the world. Timothée Chalamet plays Marty Mauser (loosely based on the real-life American ping -pong champion, Marty Reisman, in New York City in the 1950s). Mr. Supreme needs to scrounge as much as he can to take a flight to Tokyo for the world championships. However, he gets entangled in some get-rich-quick scams that lead down the path of intrigue and danger before his trip to Tokyo becomes a reality. His love interest, Rachel Mizler, unfortunately gets tied up in the fray.
Safdie picks an excellent subject for a movie. Ping pong is hard to find in filmography except perhaps in a fleeting scene or two or three in Forrest Gump.
It’s not easy to make or memorize the moves on a ping pong table. It is Diego Schaaf and his wife, Wei Wang, an Olympic player, who worked with Chalamet in the summer of 2024. Visually Chalamet and his ping pong opponents are stunning. Moviegoers should watch for Oscar nominations for Timothée Chalamet, Odessa A’zion, and the movie itself.
Cast: Timothée Chalamet (Marty Mauser), Odessa A’zion (Rachel Mizler), Gwyneth Paltrow (Kay Stone), Larry Ratso Sloman (Murray Norkin), Ralph Colucci (Lloyd), John Catsimatidis (Christopher Galanis).
Director: Josh Safdie.
Writers: Josh Safdie and Ronald Bronstein.
Cinematography: Darius Khondji.
Original Music: Daniel Lopatin.
Running time: 150 minutes.
HOWARD MCQUITTER II is a longtime movie critic. He has been reviewing movies for the alley since 2002.
