Marty Supreme

                       Timothy Chalamet on the move in “Marty Supreme.” Photo courtesy of A24 via IMDb.com.

Last year he played Bob Dylan. Now he's playing champion-level ping-pong.

Is there any challenge Timothée Chalamet can't master?

Then again, playing the role of Marty Mauser – otherwise known as “Marty Supreme” – is an act of supreme self-confidence.

Such chutzpah as they might say in the Lower East Side Jewish neighborhood where the fast-talking 23-year-old lives in his mother's apartment. 

Loosely based on the life of Marty Reisman, a table-tennis champ and brash hustler in the early 1950s, director/co-writer Josh Safdie creates pitch-perfect period settings around Chalamet's performance that sucks all the air out of whatever room he's in. 

The faces of the large cast add to the air of authenticity. With thick New Yawk accents coming out of their mouths, rarely have actors looked less like actors

Losing at the Oscars last year, this role – that Chalamet spent seven years perfecting his game for – is a sure thing for an encore nomination.

In an awards season that has left me scratching my head at what dark comedy means, “Marty Supreme” seems a textbook illustration of the genre. And yet, IMDb.com – my guide to all things movie – labels it as an Epic … Sport …Period Drama …

Well yes, but … There are a lot of laughs – some hilarious, some surreal – along the way. Not to mention, nonstop chaos on a pretty epic scale, too.

However you label it, it's a two-hour adrenaline rush as it follows Marty's globe-hopping fever dream of winning the international table tennis grand nationals. His path stretches from ghetto New York neighborhoods to London, Paris and Tokyo. He spends the movie earning, stealing, extorting or pleading for plane fare, entry fees and miscellaneous charges accrued along the way. (He has a fondness for living in luxury.)

Marty Mauser is a unique cinematic creation, almost as heroic as he is annoying. Chalamet's portrayal is an instant classic, borderline iconic.

Safdie's fast-moving screenplay, co-written with Ronald Bronstein, surrounds Marty with supporters, victims, lovers, enablers, foils and dupes. (Some characters qualify on all counts.) The story opens with coitus (look it up) between Marty and Rachel Mitzler (Odessa D'Zion) in the backroom of a shoe store. Their on-again, off-again relationship is one for the books. For openers, she's married … and almost as good as Marty himself when it comes to con games. D'Zion's energized performance conjures memories of Mikey Madison's Oscar-winning star turn in “Anora” last year.

Gwyneth Paltrow tops the co-star credits. She plays fading screen star Kay Stone, whose ice queen demeanor is no match for Marty's relentless pursuit. Kevin O'Leary plays the jerk she's married to, the ultrawealthy owner of a pen and ink company.

With the exception of Fran Drescher as Marty's hypochondriac ma Rebecca, most of the names in the cast aren't well-known. Which isn't to say the performances aren't terrific. They're gritty and street smart, like supporting characters with names like Keitel and Pesci in Martin Scorsese's early films. 

It's not just a matter of fine acting, but also director Safdie's confidence and skill behind the camera. (With Benny Safdie's “The Smashing Machine” also in contention this movie awards season, it's been a very good year for the Safdie brothers.)

As much as he's a player and a hustler, Marty Mauser is also a narcissist. Singlemindedly chasing his dreams leaves a lot of people having to pay the bills. 

Seems like all of us are learning these days how it feels to be victims of narcissism run amok. Luckily, in Marty's case, he turns out to be capable of self-reflection … and even empathy.

It all leads to a happy ending that no one could have seen coming, and puts “Marty Supreme” near the top of this reviewer's favorite movies of the year.