The Funny, Gripping, Nailbiting ‘Marty Supreme’ Is a Worthy Follow-Up to ‘Uncut Gems’

PHOTO COURTESY A24

The radiant 2019 thriller “Uncut Gems” provided one of the most gripping viewing experiences in recent memory. It is the exact sort of story for which the term nail-biter was coined — a tense yet irresistibly compelling tale of coiling tension.

Brothers Josh and Benny Safdie co-directed and co-wrote “Uncut Gems,” and they have yet to do so again; they have not worked together on a film since. This year, however, both offered solo work. Benny was responsible for “The Smashing Machine,” a well considered film that ultimately struggled with a lack of momentum. Josh wrote and directed “Marty Supreme.”

And “Marty Supreme” might even be ever-so-slightly superior to its already fabled predecessor.

Both “Marty Supreme” and “Uncut Gems” are stories about compounding bad decisions, following characters who take any risk and stomp on any relationship in the single-minded pursuit of personally defined glory. In “Uncut Gems,” the victories sought were financial; in “Marty Supreme,” our protagonist (you can’t call him a hero) is after a global revolution in the world of sports.

Marty Mauser (Timothee Chalamet) is a wunderkind at the emerging sport of table tennis. His put-upon mother (Fran Drescher) and tut-tuting neighbors, convincing denizens of 1950s New York, don’t believe he’s any sort of athlete, urging him to develop his other natural talent — as a canny shoe salesman. After advancing to the finals of a global competition and grabbing newspaper headlines, however, he has his mind on championships and Wheaties boxes.

Also on his mind: An affair with a fading silent-era movie star (Gwyneth Paltrow), a side hustle conning New Jersey rubes with a taxi-driver friend (Tyler the Creator), a simmering feud involving the missing dog of a mobster (Abel Ferrera) and the pregnant-by-Marty yet married-to-someone-else girl next door (Odessa A’zion).

Oh yeah: And he doesn’t have the money to get to Japan for the next big tournament. Not a penny of it.

The story pinballs from problem to minor victory with kinetic energy, while Chalamet rides the chaos with charm and expert control. He’s already an accomplished performer, but his work here eclipses his well-received imitation of Bob Dylan a year ago. (Like that performance, there’s real inspiration here — the film is very loosely based on the life of ping-pong player Marty Reisman — but the inspiration is slight, and Chalamet is under no obligation to ape the subject’s mannerisms.)

While “Uncut Gems” was compelling, there is something about “Marty Supreme” that’s universal. Can we relate to a table-tennis player desperately trying to recover a wise guy’s German Shepherd? Perhaps not. But we can all relate to the desperate need to prove that we are the person we believe ourselves to be. Marty Mauser knows what he has to offer and will make everyone understand who he is. Amid the chaos of “Marty Supreme,” there’s a feeling decidedly close to inspiration.

My Rating: 10/10

“Marty Supreme” opens in theaters on Dec. 25.