Marty Supreme

By Joanna Langfield

As entertaining as it is, this one also feels a bit like a scientific experiment: the synthesis of the Safdie and Chalamet energies. The results aren’t always dynamite, but they often sure come close.

Impeccably designed, shot and cast, Josh Safdie introduces us to Marty, an ambitious post World War 2 era ping pong player. Marty knows he’s good. And he is very good. But Marty is also arrogant, driven and not a small bit of an asshole. Believing his actions are justified, as he strives for fame and fortune, he uses people who love him, connives those who don’t and even chips off a chunk of an Egyptian pyramid. It’s a guy we’ve seen before and a terrific challenge for the actor who plays him. Because we need to still, somehow, root for Marty. And, with his best work yet, Timothee Chalamet gets us to do just that.

This movie is a lot. Like Marty, it never stops. Impressively, Safdie keeps it barreling along, all while making us laugh, squirm and wanting to see how our boy will get himself out of this pickle he’s in. A pickle invariably of his own making. Kudos to supporting stars Gwyneth Paltrow and Odessa A’zion, women who seem to genuinely be engaged by Marty, even as they pursue their own agendas. And, while Jennifer Venditti has perfectly cast a huge number of roles here, the biggest surprise is Kevin O’Leary. That’s right, Kevin O’Leary of Shark Tank. The Canadian entrepreneur who bills himself as “Canada’s Donald Trump”. Maybe he’s acting, maybe he’s not, as the only asshole who might be savvier than Marty. But he is perfect playing him and commands the screen in a way that makes me want to see what he might do next.