by Aidan McGuire
As a person very involved in academics, I rarely have time in my schedule to go to the movies, much to my own disappointment because I’m a self-proclaimed “film guy.” But when my close friend recently asked me to see a movie about ping pong on a night that I had a rare amount of free time, I begrudgingly agreed to go to see a movie that would ultimately become one of my favorite pieces of modern cinema, Marty Supreme.
The 2025 film directed by Josh Safdie follows the story of a man named Marty, a world-renowned table tennis player during the 1950s, when ping pong was moving to the height of its popularity. On its surface, a movie about a ping pong player attempting to win a national championship could seem trivial or mundane, but A24 crafted something beautiful that exceeds any and all expectations of what this movie is; it’s not, in fact, just a ping pong movie.
Marty, played by Timothée Chalamet, is thrown into a whirlwind of trials and tribulations as he attempts to raise enough money to travel to the table tennis world championship in Tokyo to beat his biggest rival, Koto Endo. Marty navigates his way through an unconventional and sometimes unrequited love story with Rachel Mizler, played by Odessa A’zion, and through it all, he pushes through pure humiliation, running from the police, and even shootouts, all in an attempt to raise enough money to fly halfway across the world for his tournament.
Despite the apparent randomness of this plot, Safdie is able to craft a film that leverages these high stakes in such a valuable way that it literally connects the unconnectable. Something that resonates with me about Chalamet’s performance and Safdie’s original writing is Marty’s undeniable passion for his craft. As someone who’s incredibly passionate, I just immediately understood. There’s a certain level of betrayal that anyone with passion leaves on their friends, family, and community. Marty Supreme perfectly discusses the struggle and ethics behind doing the right thing and how far one is willing to go for their dreams.
In the end, Marty somehow achieves both, but the plot almost left me wanting a tiny bit more. This is one of those movies I’d happily sit through for another three hours. With its upcoming Oscar nominations, I’m beyond excited to see how it performs and potentially find enough free time to give the ol’ ping pong movie that isn’t a ping pong movie another watch.
Marty Supreme is in theatres now, and will stream on HBO Max in April.
