Marty Supreme
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An ADHD bonanza, Marty Supreme doesn’t just grab your attention, it pulls it this way and that from one side-quest to another, following a main character who just won’t quit his quest to obtain personal glory. At first glance, this film presents a stubborn, smart-mouthed sociopath ping-pong player who encounters obstacle after obstacle on his journey to become World Champion. Yet underneath the chaos and action lies a complex historical context, and a story about finding self-fulfilment in a world that is unfair and unafraid to leave you in the dust.
With our theme for articles this term being ‘Power’, a review of Marty Supreme is on topic. Historically speaking, other than the greasy side part and rounded spectacles, our main character little resembles the ping-pong player he was based off of, Marty Reisman. Reisman was a character himself, a voracious man who won 22 titles in his career and was known for doing anything in his power to win his games, including measuring the height of a net with 100 dollar bills before matches to ensure their precision. Marty Supreme’s escapades, including being wanted by the police, accidentally setting gas stations on fire and having an affair with a former actress stray largely from the historical athlete.
However, the context in which the film situates itself has fascinating implications for Timothée Chalomet’s character. Set in post-war New York City, Marty is Jewish and living in a world that is grappling with the results of a genocide whilst rebuilding both physically and politically. The United States finds itself in a new war, one fought with ideological rather than conventional weapons. At home, the foundations of the Civil Rights movement are being laid down and in New York, corruption pervades. The tension are introduced into the movie in the form of Marty’s friends, the holocaust survivor Béla and fellow New Yorker Wally, and his rival, the Japanese ping-pong phenomenon Koto Endo. During the American occupation, Marty’s sport, of middling popularity in the US, exploded in Japan. The interplay of Marty’s frustration at ping-pong not being taken seriously in his home country and the rise of it in a foreign land reveals the Japanese attempts at remodelling itself into a Western-leaning country, and the speed at which it redefined its image. American soldiers present at Marty’s game in Tokyo, and Béla’s recounting of his experience in the Holocaust serve as stark reminders that the implications of the war are not over, and that its memory constructs the characters’ hopes and motivations.
Ping-pong empowers Marty in this complex world, his talent driving him towards glory, further and further away from the issues he faces at home. His manipulating tactics and blatant apathy for the people around him show his lack of restraint in doing anything he can to satisfy his personal goal: recognition. Marty’s determination is inspiring, yet at times difficult to watch as he hurts the ones he loves and disappoints himself as well. As the story continues in its rollercoaster way, it becomes clear that this is not a movie about ping-pong itself: rather the sport serves as an entry into a world which carries deep pain and simultaneously a deep desire to heal. Although the film has quite a long run-time, it keeps you entertained with twists and turns, love and desperation, and witty humor. Perhaps not the most historically accurate movie, Marty Supreme certainly is an exciting story, and will satisfy any history-loving cinephile.