Marty Supreme: Sweat and Rackets
By Simon Desjardins
Staff Writer
What would you do to achieve your dreams? Would you lie and cheat? Would you scam and beg like your life depended on it? Could you scrounge up enough money for a plane ticket to Japan starting from nothing? Well if you won’t then Marty “Mouse” Mauser (Timothee Chalemet) definitely would. The film Marty Supreme, directed by Josh Safdie, showcases the true power of grit. The story revolves around Marty, a 23 year old jewish New Yorker, juggling between his job as a shoe salesman, his dreams of making a living off his incredible table tennis skills and especially his hustler lifestyle. He embodies the 1952 post-second-World-War city of New York; he is the man that doesn’t sleep and a lower class underdog who struggles to keep up with his bills.
During the whole movie Safdie made sure that there was never a dull moment. There was a constant whirlwind of character introduction yet somehow all of them felt real and personal even if their screen times were limited. Canada’s own Kevin O’leary played Milton Rockwell, a crucial character, and unexpectedly had an outstanding performance. The tensions were high between him and Marty; their relationship portrayed the power the high class has over a person’s make or break moment.
The soundtrack was frankly amazing, the hard notes really pushed how hard headed and goal oriented Marty is. Not only was Daniel Lopin able to translate pure grit and inspiration into music, he also pushed the audience into the mindset of specific characters which made it easier to understand their intentions. Disappointingly, the director didn’t choose Lopin for the final scene, instead Everybody Wants to Rule the World by Tears for Fears played. This feels like Safdie lacked appreciation for the composer’s performance and it was plainly cliché. Choosing an 80s song was also questionable as it doesn’t fit the era at all. Even Tyler the Creator (who played Wally, Marty’s best friend) would’ve been a better choice, at that point I would’ve rathered for Mr. Safdie to completely miss the decade than only by thirty years.
Although this was a sports movie, there wasn’t an overwhelming amount of crazy ping pong montages. In fact, there were too few; the blue haze of the tournament arena complimented Mouse’s snappy attitude and that feeling was not dragged for long enough. The focus leaned more towards how he could ever surmount the obstacles in the way of his passion for competing.
This hit has joined the trend of using anti-heros as main characters. Through all the terrible choices and actions every role did, they are still all loveable. Society has come to the conclusion that perfect heroes don’t exist, I think this idea won’t have a market for a while.