NEW YORK — Timothée Chalamet just made the most stressful film you’re ever bound to see about table tennis.
“Marty Supreme” (in theaters Christmas Day) is a rip-roaring, nerve-shredding dramedy that follows Marty Mauser (Chalamet), a cocky scoundrel chasing money to fuel his squirrely pursuit of ping-pong greatness. Single-minded and uncompromising, Marty is a delightful scumbag who beds an unhappy Hollywood star (Gwyneth Paltrow) and pitches get-rich schemes to her businessman husband (“Shark Tank” personality Kevin O’Leary).
Set in 1950s New York, the electrifying sports movie made its world premiere during a secret screening at the New York Film Festival on Oct. 6. Tickets went on sale mere days in advance, and although “Marty Supreme” was heavily rumored to make its bow, the news wasn’t confirmed until moments before the film began.
Timothée Chalamet in a scene from Josh Safdie’s new ping-pong movie “Marty Supreme.”
“You’re the first audience to see this film,” said writer-director Josh Safdie (“Uncut Gems”), dedicating the project to his home city as he took the stage at Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall. He then went on to introduce Chalamet, 29, as “a young man who chases greatness, whom I wrote the movie for. I asked this young man to play the part, and it was written for him and his essence and his soul.”
Chalamet proceeded to walk out in a ballcap and hoodie, as he thanked the crowd for showing up to the late-evening premiere.
“I just want to echo Josh’s love for this city,” Chalamet said as he grabbed the mic. “This movie, in many ways, beyond being about Marty Mauser, is a love letter to New York. The New York that is, the New York that was, and the city it still can be. I’m so thrilled to debut this here. I went to high school down the street – this is awesome to be here.”
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Josh Safdie, left, and Timothée Chalamet attend the New York Film Festival secret screening of “Marty Supreme” on Oct. 6.
In his opening remarks, Safdie explained that he had been working on “Marty Supreme” for more than seven years and had just finished editing it at 2 a.m. the day before. He also playfully expressed his own nerves about unveiling the movie to an unsuspecting audience on such short notice.
“I hate surprises, too,” Safdie wisecracked. “They should rename the word ‘surprise’: ‘intense moments of anxiety where the only payoff is just that it’s not bad.’ I’m hoping you guys all feel that way and don’t want your money back.”
Kylie Jenner, Timothee Chalamet celebrate ‘Marty Supreme’ at cozy, star-studded afterparty
Afterward, party invites printed on matchbooks led festivalgoers to the famed Waverly Inn in the West Village, where Chalamet and girlfriend Kylie Jenner held court at a table in the ornately painted restauant. The cozy, crowded soiree attracted celebrity guests including Paltrow, Chris Rock, Drew Starkey, Eric André, Jeremy O. Harris, Christopher Abbott and Sarah Sherman.
“Marty Supreme” vaults Chalamet back into the Oscar race, after netting best actor nominations for last year’s Bob Dylan biopic “A Complete Unknown” and 2017’s gay coming-of-age drama “Call Me By Your Name.”
The charismatic A-lister crashes an already-crowded field of awards hopefuls that includes Wagner Moura (“The Secret Agent”), Leonardo DiCaprio (“One Battle After Another“), Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson (“The Smashing Machine“), Jeremy Allen White (“Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere“) and Daniel Day-Lewis (“Anemone“).
The unconventional thriller played like gangbusters to the buzzing New York crowd. (One particular scene, of a bare-bummed Chalamet getting paddled by O’Leary, drew a mix of raucous laughter and uncomfortable cheers midway through the film.) Although official critics’ reviews are under embargo, many journalists flooded social media with their gushing reactions to the movie.
The Hollywood Reporter’s David Canfield praised Chalamet for a “career-best performance,” while Variety’s Ramin Setoodeh called it his “best performance yet.” Check out more of the glowing notices below:
The 63rd annual New York Film Festival runs through Oct. 13. Bradley Cooper will close out the festival with his latest directorial effort “Is This Thing On?” starring Will Arnett as a man who turns to stand-up comedy while facing divorce.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Timothee Chalamet ‘Marty Supreme’ movie earns career-best reviews
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