“Marty Supreme”, directed by Josh Safdie, entered theaters worldwide on Dec. 25 and became an instant hit.
Starring actors like Timothee Chalamet, Odessa A’zion, Gwyneth Paltrow, Tyler Okonma and Kevin O’Leary, the movie was appealing to all ages.
Starting with their extensive marketing plans: orange ping pong balls labeled with the movie’s title, stars showing up to local ping pong games, specialized jackets and Timothee’s extensive online presence, there was no doubt the cast had a deep love for the movie and wanted fans to appreciate it too.
Going into the movie, I was expecting something similar to “Challengers”, a high-tension film about a sport, but I came out with something completely different.
While the story focuses on the life of a ping pong player, Marty Mauser, the plot is almost entirely apart from the game itself. The film follows Mauser’s schemes and the way it got him into not only triumph, but failures, which ultimately led to his own perseverance through the most random events.
Senior Rijul Kashyap shares, “I really loved the movie, great cinematography, acting and story. I was stressed the whole time and the direction was really good.”
The movie was definitely one that kept me on the edge of my seat, stressed out over why Marty was doing what he was doing. Whether it was scamming the wrong people, kidnapping and losing a crazy man’s dog and “impregnating” somebody within the first three minutes of the film, there was no way I could predict any part of the plot.
Chalamet’s acting was somewhat remarkable in the role; he created such a character that I disdained, while embarking on a golden-hearted motif. During his performance, he completely drifted away from himself, and you could completely forget that it was the iconic actor himself in such an intense role.
This acting was enhanced by the strong actress Odessa A’zion. While she isn’t as well known of an actor as Chalamet, she truly deserves to be. A’zion’s acting truly encapsulates everything that Marty despised, yet shows what ended up being his life. Her role completely outshone the performance given by Gwyneth Paltrow, who, for being an A-list, big-time actress for so long, was entirely underwhelming and overhyped.
With high anticipation of this film predictably winning the Best Picture Oscar, there is no doubt in my mind about why. This film juggled many heavy topics, such as religion, the Holocaust, money, scandal and table tennis, serving as a masterful piece of art within cinematic history.
Mary Supreme is a movie that I would watch again to raise my heart rate from the amount of stress, but also to enjoy true cinema and the creativity that sprouts from that.
