REVIEW. In "Marty Supreme," Timothée Chalamet Dreams Big...and Triumphs.

Timothée Chalamet as ping-pong virtuoso Marty Mauser in Josh Safdie's Marty Supreme.

Timothée Chalamet aspires to greatness. Just ask him. At last year's SAG Awards when he accepted the "Actor" for Best Male Lead in a Movie (for playing a "version" of folk rock icon Bob Dylan in A Complete Unknown), Chalamet gushed to his fellow actors that he wanted to be one of the greats: “I'm really in pursuit of greatness … I want to be one of the greats; I'm inspired by the greats,” he declared before listing some of his role models: Daniel Day-Lewis, Marlon Brando, and Viola Davis. His unabashed enthusiasm not withstanding, some found his comments inappropriate and arrogant.

I dunno. I thought he was just being "Timmy," the unconventional bi-lingual (he's fluent in French) heartthrob that had us at "hello" almost ten years ago in his breakout role as Elio, the seventeen-year-old son of an archeology professor whose summer of love and sexual discovery with his father's graduate assistant Oliver (Armie Hammer) against the sensual backdrop of rural northern Italy earned him his first Oscar nom at the tender age of twenty-two, the third youngest nominee in that category.

Accolades and critical acclaim (mostly) have followed ever since. After last year's nom for A Complete Unknown, Chalamet became the youngest two-time Best Actor nominee (he turns thirty December 27) since James Dean. Not too shabby.

For almost a decade, Chalamet has taken smaller parts in bigger movies like Wes Anderson's The French Dispatch and Greta Gerwig's Lady Bird and Little Women as well as grittier roles like Nic Sheff, in the based-on-a-true-story exploration of adolescent drug addiction, Beautiful Boy. Then came the leads in more iconic films and remakes, including Dune: Parts One and Two, and an effervescent, young Willy Wonka in Wonka, a musical prequel to Roald Dahl's classic children's book, Charlie and the Chocolate Faculty (which became the celebrated film Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory back in 1971 and starred Gene Wilder).

Last year, Chalamet assumed yet another cinematic iteration, this time that of the enigmatic Bob Dylan. Chalamet gushed (or bragged, depending on your impression of him) that he'd prepared for years to learn the guitar and to sing for the role, immersing himself so completely in the part that, if you watch the movie and close your eyes, you'd swear Dylan himself was singing. It was a performance for the ages, and Chalamet should have won the Best Actor Oscar.

Yes, I'm still bemoaning Timmy's loss to what turned out to be a much more arrogant (and undeserving?) Adrien Brody. If you doubt my assessment, check out Brody's endless and self-serving acceptance speech from last year's Oscar ceremony.

Chalamet campaigned hard for A Complete Unknown, appearing on countless talk shows, hosting (and serving as musical guest) on SNL, even mimicking Dylan's offbeat sartorial style at many of the movie's red carpet events and premieres. This not-so-subtle approach to secure Oscar voters may have been off-putting to some Academy members, but this year, Chalamet has gone even farther in marketing Marty Supreme: There are already several websites that sell everything from bright orange hoodies to glowing orange ping-pong holiday ornaments (much like the balls his character uses in the film). There's even a waitlist to purchase a "Wheaties" cereal box ($25) with Chalamet's smiling visage on the cover. I'm still hoping for an orange cocoa cream Munchkin from Dunkin' Donuts, which actually makes more marketing sense than the Wicked-inspired martinis that were on the menu at Bonefish Grill earlier this fall. What did a martini have to do with the witches of Oz? At least a Munchkin is about the same size as a ping pong ball.

Chalamet showed up at the film's New York premiere earlier this month, along with girlfriend Kylie Jenner, dressed in a neon-bright orange double-breasted leather suit from Tom Ford by Haider Ackermann. A Cartier pendant and custom-made Urban Jurgensen watch (also in Marty Supreme orange) completed the look. Photos from the event have dominated social media, leading up the movie's Christmas Eve theatrical release., moved up from Christmas Day after a weekend pre-screening broke box office records in select cities.

So how will all of this aggressive self-promotion impact Chalamet's chances at this year's Oscars? It's still too soon to tell, although early reviews and awards nominations suggest he'll be in the thick of things come March 15, when this year's golden statuettes will be handed out. And why not? Writer/director Josh Safdie's energy-fueled homage to following your bliss is an audacious tale of beating the odds, pursuing your dreams at all costs, and (maybe) becoming a better person because of it. On the late director Robert Altman's scale of what makes a "great American" movie, Marty Supreme has all the necessary elements: drama, comedy, love and romance, violence, action, redemption and, above all (depending on your definition), a happy ending.

In short, Marty Supreme is "loosely inspired" by the life of table tennis champion and hustler Marty Reisman, who won twenty-two major table tennis titles between 1946 and 2002, including the World Title in Men's Singles (Stockholm,1949). Set in New York in 1952, Safdie and co-writer Ronald Bronstein immediately immerse us in Marty Mauser's (Chalamet) world: A shoe salesman by day, we are introduced to Marty as he juggles multiple demanding customers, an impromptu visit from his lover (Odessa D'Azion), a promotion offered by his boss/uncle (Larry "Ratso" Sloman), and his table tennis aspirations. Marty is determined to go to London to participate in the International Table Tennis competition, and he literally moves heaven and earth to get there.

The pace at which Safdie tells this story, which spans about eight months, is fast, frenzied and surprisingly exciting, given its subject. This is table tennis, after all, not a superhero tale where the entire universe is in danger of annihilation. Still, the momentum never lets up. Cinematographer Darius Khondji's dazzling camera work starts off at a frenetic pace and maintains its rhythm throughout the movie's two-and-a-half hour running time. Just when you think the narrative will slow down or that the intensity can't be amplified, Safdie cranks up the speed, the emotion - and the volume - with a ferocity that rivals the best action adventure film - only better and with arguably more effective results. In this movie, a kind of hybrid sports dramedy adventure, we don't necessarily know how the story will be resolved, and I found myself riveted to the action on screen, to Marty's next move, and to its potentially disastrous, if unintended, consequences.

Marty is so singularly focused on his success that he utilizes every possible resource available, and even some options that are probably best left ignored. Depending on how you view his motives, his goals, and/or his methods, Marty is either a genius or self-made loser. Hustling his way to international stardom, he lies, cheats, steals and manipulates everyone he encouters. His ability to make up a story on the spot is remarkable - or appalling - and so intrinsically embedded in his DNA that you can't help but be mesmerized by his determination and drive.

In less capable hands, a movie like this could have gone horribly wrong, but that's not the case here. Everyone and everything involved in this film delivers, from Safdie's compelling underdog story and energetic direction, to supporting performances by everyone from Oscar-winner Gwenyth Paltrow (as a has-been actress named Kay Stone that Marty tries to charm - and screw - for money) to newcomer D'Azion (as Rachel, Marty's married lover) and rapper Tyler Okonma (as Marty's best friend Wally), and including Khondji's dazzling cinematography, to (finally) Chalamet's "can't-take-your-eyes-off-him" performance in the title role.

Marty Supreme, similar in theme to 2019's Uncut Gems, is only Safdie's second solo directing project to date (Josh and brother Benny typically co-direct their films), and uses lots of quick close-ups juxtaposed with grittier, real-life surroundings, and interjected with dark comedy, to transport you almost completely into the head/heart spaces of the characters. Marty, born and raised on New York's Lower East Side, becomes almost a walking manifestation of his personal heritage: A poor Jew who grew up in poverty, he longs to free himself of the cultural shackles that bind him. Safdie frames many of the scenes to emphasize the claustrophobic world Marty longs to shatter. He seems hemmed in, restricted until his own thoughts and vision propel him to greatness, or at least, his perception of it.

There is so much to take in watching Marty Supreme that you may need to schedule a second viewing. One of Safdie's recurring themes from Uncut Gems deals with risk-takers (Adam Sandler's jewelry dealer has a serious gambling problem that influences his life choices), and how they use - and are used by - others to get what they want. As Marty climbs higher up the tennis table stratosphere, he meets more affluent people who could be potential benefactors. The thing is, as Safdie suggests, those who have money are no less unscrupulous than the low lifes who aspire to join their societal ranks. There's more here to explore, specifically, Marty's volatile relationship with Milton Rockwell, a successful businessman (and husband to Paltrow's Kay), whose interest in Marty's victory is directly, subversely tied to his own ambitions.

Balancing all of the chaos in Marty's life with his enduring quest for greatness is music. Composer/musician Daniel Lopatin, best known as Oneohtrix Point Never or OPN, features an eclectic blend of classical, electronic, and synth sounds that mirror the movie's fluid energy, with classic hits from the 1950s and more recent artists like Peter Gabriel and Tears for Fears. Music is also utilized to great effect as foreshadower: bridging scenes, connecting the moment we are in to the next sequence without ruining the experience.

Chalamet's been on the talk show circuit of late, talking up Marty Supreme as a kind of modern day fable of hope designed for a younger generation already despondent by the current state of the planet. In an age where college loan debt can be insurmountable, job options immediately after college are being threatening by the expansion of AI, and the future of American democracy hangs in the balance, Marty Supreme definitely makes a strong, powerful statement about going after what you want, even in the face of overwhelming challenges and unrealistic expectations.

Even so, Sadfie doesn't provide clear or definitive answers, as the ending of the movie is ambiguous about Marty's fate. Was he redeemed? Did he change? And for the better?

As the credits started to role, my husband leaned over and whispered that he'd never seen such a good movie about a "miserable shit" like Marty. To be sure, Chalamet's protagonist is not an easily likeable character and it is to the actor's credit that he does such a masterful job of holding our interest, not to mention keeping the movie afloat. Everything, after all, revolves around Marty, and Chalamet's energy seems to have ignited his co-stars with equal kinds of fire that fuel the story's narrative and eventual outcome.

It's easy to see how Chalamet's shameless self-promotion of this film is a natural extension of the character and the movie's message. Love it or hate it, Marty Supreme is a movie that demands to be seen (in a theater, of course, if possible), and Timothée Chalamet gives a performance so absorbing and hypnotic that he should be on every awards season short list, despite - or because of - his soulful belief in the power of this film.

Besides, you know, everybody just wants to rule the world.

*******

Marty Supreme opened globally in theaters Christmas Eve. It is rated "R" for language, sexual content and some bloody images. Who knew ping-pong could be so vicious?