Benny Safdie’s new, much-anticipated film ‘Marty Supreme’ has been screened for the first time in New York City.
The movie, starring Timothée Chalamet, will open in theatres on Christmas Day, but an ecstatic New York Film Festival (NYFF) audience was treated to an early screening on Monday.
‘Marty Supreme’ relates the story of a ping pong star pursuing greatness in 1950s New York, and it is loosely inspired by the life of American champion table tennis player, Marty Reisman.
Apart from French-American actor Chalamet, the movie also stars Gwyneth Paltrow and Abel Ferrara.
Bright reviews
Early commentary on the movie was radiant.
Indiewire’s chief film critic David Ehrlich wrote on X a cryptic but funny review: “Marty Supreme aka One Paddle After Another: cannot believe we got two American movies this good back to back.”
The film is a huge gamble for A24, its production company.
It is reportedly its most expensive project to date and had a budget of around $70 million.
Variety co-editor-in-chief Ramin Setoodeh shared on X: “‘Marty Supreme’ is ‘Uncut Gems’ meets ‘The Catcher in the Rye’ meets ‘Jerry Maguire’, carried by Timothée Chalamet’s best performance yet. I loved it so much.”
The movie’s director, Josh Safdie, is the brother of ‘The Smashing Machine’ director Benny Safdie, who recently won the Silver Lion at the Venice International Film Festival for his work on the film.
The two had collaborated as directors for indie-cult films such as ‘Good Time’, starring Robert Pattinson, and ‘Uncut Gems’ (which brought Adam Sandler back into being the talk of the town in 2019), before splitting up to work on their individual projects.
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‘A love letter to New York’
Timothée Chalamet also made a surprise appearance on Monday, October 6, before the screening.
After being introduced by Safdie, Chalamet told the audience: “This movie – in many ways, beyond being about Marty Mauser – is a love letter to New York.”
The young star, who collaborated with some of the most awarded directors over recent years, revealed how “thrilled” he was that the world premiere was taking place in his hometown.
“I went to high school down the street. This is f—ing awesome to be here,” he stated.
The actor is being eyed for the 2026 Oscars race, after previously earning a nomination in 2017 for Best Actor for his performance in Luca Guadagnino’s queer classic ‘Call Me By Your Name.’
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