Marty Supreme, the upcoming sports drama led by Timothée Chalamet, has landed a near-perfect rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Currently, the film, which is loosely inspired by the life of American table tennis player Marty Reisman, is scored at an impressive 96%, with critics lauding Chalamet's performance in particular.
"If Marty Supreme exists to prove that Timothée Chalamet could have easily kicked it with the New Hollywood icons of the Seventies, the Harvey Keitels and the Gena Rowlandses, then point proven. He's truly one of our greatest talents," raved The Independent.
"A melt-the-screen-down-to-gold performance. With the steamroller audacity of his character, Chalamet has staked a massively confident claim for his first Oscar. If you must gamble, lay it all on Chalamet. Now," declared the London Evening Standard.
Meanwhile, IndieWire described the film, which was co-written, produced and directed by Josh Safdie (Uncut Gems), as a "massive ping-pong masterpiece", noting: "Chalamet makes one of the most colossal movie performances of the 21st century seem as natural as a lay-up."
Likewise, in our review, we agreed that Chalamet deserves an Oscar, adding: "In case it hasn't already been made clear, Marty Supreme is a special movie. Come for Timothée Chalamet's incredible performance and stay for the constantly surprising plot. Just don't expect to learn too much about table tennis."
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Set in New York in the 1950s, the film follows Marty Mauser (Chalamet), a young man who dreams of becoming a ping pong champion.
Driven by the pursuit of greatness, the ambitious and self-assured prodigy prepares to fly to Japan, where he hopes to defeat his rival, Koto Endo (Koto Kawaguchi) and prove anyone who's ever doubted him wrong.
Rounding out the cast, Chalamet stars alongside Gwyneth Paltrow, Kevin O'Leary, Odessa A'zion, Abel Ferrara and Tyler Okonma.
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Ahead of the film's release, cinematographer Darius Khondji has praised Chalamet, revealing the level of dedication and research he put into the character of Marty. "He wanted to be like a real [professional] ping pong player when he started shooting," Khondji told Variety, explaining that the actor "is going to be very different than the Timothée Chalamet you've seen so far."
"I don't think people are going to recognise him at all," he predicted.
Marty Supreme will land in US cinemas on 25 December, and in UK cinemas on 26 December.
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