Josh Safdie's new movie, Marty Supreme, dey bring mad energy like ping pong rally wey one player dey run round and round for 149 minutes! E be marathon sprint of gonzo wahala and noise, sociopath-screwball nightmare like Mel Brooks do am – but instead of jokes, na bad taste, cinephile talk, alpha cameos, deal-making wey dey rush, racism and antisemitism, sentimental yearning and erotic adventures dey.
Timothée Chalamet as Marty Mauser
Timothée Chalamet dey play Marty Mauser, spindly guy wey dey talk plenty with glasses like intellectual, mustache like movie star and body like small cartoon character. E get inspiration from Marty “The Needle” Reisman, real-life US table tennis champ from 1950s wey like Bobby Riggs – betting, hustling and showmanship stunts. Just the scene wey Chalamet dey inside bathtub with dog and Abel Ferrara for scuzzy New York hotel room worth the money wey you go pay go see am.
The Story Dey Set For 1950s New York
Marty na young Jewish guy wey dey work for shoe shop for New York for 1952, dey dream say e go be world champion for table tennis and e dey try patent ein own ball wey e call Marty Supreme. The movie dey confuse you small bit with movie language wey dey remind you of 1970s character studies, all set to 1980s music by Public Image Ltd., Peter Gabriel, and Tears for Fears.
- The displacement dey intentional
- E dey make you feel like say you no dey where you suppose dey
- Like say dem throw you comot from time
Safdie use similar style for Uncut Gems, another movie about man wey no dey comfortable for ein own skin, shark wey believe say e go drown if e stop swimming. Chalamet give ein best performance for the movie. E be story about man wey think say e be the best for the world for something, and that thinking dey important like actually being it.
Love, Fame, and Ping Pong
Marty dey sleep with ein old friend Rachel (Odessa A’zion), wey marry Stanley-like brute Ira (Emory Cohen) but e clear say e dey love Marty. Marty travel go ping pong championship, where e dey try live big life, including upgrading ein room go Ritz. E meet former box office queen Kay Stone (Gwyneth Paltrow) and e fall for ein star power. E dey try make business deal with Kay ein husband, Milton (Kevin O’Leary from Shark Tank), while e dey sleep with ein wife. When e lose the championship and become joke for Japan as “Defeated American,” things take turn.