“Marty Supreme” is a movie in which nothing matters, but everything matters. Titular character Marty Mauser robs his workplace at gunpoint, steals his lover’s jewelry and gets in a shootout where three people are killed — all to pay for a table tennis tournament.
Lives are ruined, betrayed and lost. And for what? Ping pong?
This is the magic of “Marty Supreme.” Director Josh Safdie and lead actor Timothée Chalamet, along with their cast and crew, elevate a seemingly benign story about table tennis into a gritty crime thriller filled with dark-lit scenes and shaky, claustrophobic camera work that had us on the edge of our seats. It’s easy to forget that Mauser’s exploits are ultimately just games of ping pong and not life-or-death situations (until they eventually are).
Every aspect of the film’s technical craft asserts the intensity and importance of its events, particularly the score. Constant throbbing and sometimes headache-inducing synthesizers create gut-wrenching tension, instilling in the viewer a sense that something is about to go wrong. Anachronistic ’80s power ballads from Tears for Fears and New Order, among others, add excitement and momentum that transcend the film’s 1950s setting. In the film’s more intimate moments, these electronic grooves give way to lighter, more orchestral sounds that evoke ethereal pleasure and provide much-needed relief between high-octane scenes.
The film’s soundtrack perfectly encapsulates the paradox that is this movie — violent scenes of crime contrasted with moments of tender vulnerability and pure absurdity. It’s impossible to avoid emotional whiplash as you go from watching Mauser violently crash out on the world stage to watching a dozen men lick honey off of their friend’s bare chest.
For many, this unpredictability began with viral marketing stunts leading up to the film’s release. Among the movie’s best-known promotions was an 18-minute skit purporting to be a leaked Zoom call featuring A24’s marketing team and a caricaturized Chalamet presenting his eccentric ideas with ridiculous self-seriousness (much like his character). Celebrities, including Bill Nye and Hailey Bieber, donned “Marty Supreme” jackets, and Chalamet was featured in a rap song promoting the film. The light-hearted wackiness of the film’s advertising led many to believe that “Marty Supreme” would be a fun, comedic romp that would provide easygoing Christmas Day entertainment, a simple “ping pong movie.”
It takes about 10 minutes to realize that these expectations were ill-placed. The film spends very little time on actual table tennis, instead depicting the escalating chaos Mauser wreaks in pursuit of his aspirations. The film makes it overwhelmingly clear that the only thing more potent than Mauser’s confidence in himself is his willingness to sacrifice everything and everyone around him.
But despite the severity of the film and its title character, it’s hard not to root for Mauser. We both know multiple people who hated this movie. Not because of the movie itself, but because of what it represents. Marty Mauser is not a good person; he lies, cheats, steals, manipulates, kills and can just be really, really annoying. But when he lies, we want to believe his lies. When he cheats, we want him to win. And when he tells people that he loves them, supports them and wants the best for them, we want it to be true. Even when we know it’s not.
This is why we think some people dislike “Marty Supreme.” Because when people sympathize with Mauser, they think it forgives the path of destruction he leaves in his wake. It doesn’t matter if he deserves sympathy — he’s going to get it anyway. By the end of the movie, we know Marty Mauser. We know everything that’s wrong with him (refer to the bucket list of faults above), but we also know everything that’s so right. He’s a proud, idealistic kid with big dreams and the ambition to get him where he wants to go. He is the personification of the American Dream, someone who sees anything less than the utmost success as failure, and who will stop at nothing to achieve his goals.
It’s easy to hate Mauser, not just for the moral crimes he’s committed, but for the fact that it’s hard not to see ourselves in him. Or rather, it’s hard not to see the person we don’t want to be. The person we could so easily become. Everyone wants greatness or success or a legacy. We want to avoid falling into mediocrity. The only question is, how much can we sacrifice for all of that? How much should we? Mauser crosses the line a million times without hesitation. But the rest of us stand at its edge, watching him, judging him, rightfully so, but also seeing him get exactly what he wants in the end.
Because after everything, after we’ve spent two and a half hours watching a man who deserves absolutely nothing beat his greatest rival, reunite with the woman he loves and gaze at his newborn child with tears in his eyes, we resent Marty Mauser. After all he’s done, it seems cosmically unjust that he finds a happy ending.
But it’s impossible to know if the tears in Mauser’s eyes are those of joy or sadness. He has defeated his nemesis but is banned from competing professionally ever again. He reunites with his girlfriend, but he has destroyed the trust of everyone he’s ever known and loved. He sees his child, but there is blood on his hands. The question isn’t whether or not Mauser deserves a happy ending, but whether or not he gets one at all. It would be wholly in character for Mauser to disregard the lives he ruined and see himself as a success the moment he holds his son; it would be just as fitting for him to see a stable life with a family (and no table tennis career) as an abject failure.
His character’s rich complexity leaves us wondering whether he landed himself in his greatest dream or his worst nightmare. Will he be like the dog we see in one of the film’s most striking moments, escaping the destruction he creates and running towards freedom in ignorant bliss? Or will he end up like his bright orange Marty Supreme ping pong balls, dumped out of a window onto the street? Therein lies the beauty of “Marty Supreme”: whatever you make of Marty Mauser’s fate, you’re exactly right.
