Marty Supreme
Why did I get blue-balled by orange balls?!?
Yeah, this blew me away. Propulsive, energetic filmmaking that lights you up inside. There's something special here with the way that Josh Safdie has managed to distill this idea of ambition, this pursuit of greatness, into something so powerful, entertaining, thrilling, and also seeks to scrutinise that ambition, where it's born from, if it's right, and what it does to the person who is holding that ambition within themselves.
It's very clear that greatness doesn't just happen; it is worked on, chiselled away piece by piece until it perhaps replaces the person who was once there. It feels very fitting for the modern-day grind set that is almost being forced upon younger generations. This ambition has consumed his life to the point where it's all he knows. If he is so assured and confident in his delusions, it becomes hard to discern where the lies begin, or even where he begins.
Marty Mauser must be one of the most fascinating characters put on screen in a while. He's deeply morally flawed, but in a world which itself is corrupt. Is he just in his pursuit of greatness if he only ever punches up? Somebody who has been beaten down by the world and told to shrink, like most people do, somebody going against that grain, against that oppression, and fighting back makes people feel uncomfortable, and the situations that arise from this and how Marty feels cognizant of the illusions that are placed in a lot of us is utterly fascinating.
None of this would work as well as it does if it weren't for the magnificent Timothée Chalamet. People can see what they would like about him. I think he is absolutely magnetic in this. He completely loses himself in this role. The ambition feels like it is clawing at him beneath his skin; you can see it etched across his face, the desire to be something more that he is, always striving forward, to be pursuing something he is deeply longing for. It is a magnificent performance that feels like a bucket of blood, sweat, and tears went into it.
Love the utilisation of the supporting cast as well, which feels like little pockets in Marty's life. Marty's life feels lived in and coloured, people come and go into his life, which feels very natural. Massive shout out to Odessa A'Zion. She was a standout performance, getting to balance the intense drama and stress with hyper comedic scenes.
It's funny looking at other Safdie brothers’ work. This feels on paper less stressful than the others; however, what I find fascinating is that stress underpins Marty as a character, it's not necessarily a constant in the events that are going on, but it lives within him and thus creates this utterly fascinating atmosphere where you are stressed because he is, because he is never resting; he's always looking for more. He has to constantly be moving forward, and that in itself creates stress.
At the end of the day, this is a movie about choices and the culmination of those choices; how the choices in life that we make do have an effect on us. It is the pursuit of greatness and the trappings that come with that; it is being the underdog in the world that perceives you as a single thing and does not like it if you aim higher; it is a masterpiece in screenwriting from Josh Safdie. Just an utterly brilliant display and balance of tone; one of the funniest films of the year yet also one of the most profound; it has one of the most delectable 80s scores that blends in and out of its soundtrack so seamlessly. It is chopped full of great performances, and it is one of the best movies of the year. It has lit me up and inspired me in ways that very few films have.
Dream big.