<p class="bodytext">What is it about sports that compels someone to make it their purpose? Fame, money, recognition. Sure. But all of these are mere embellishments to the core that every athlete chases — the intoxicating feeling of winning!</p>.<p class="bodytext">‘Marty Supreme’ is Hollywood’s latest addition to the genre of sports-comedy drama. It explores the multiple layers of an American table tennis player in his quest for excellence — the heights and depths, the hope and despair, and the dreams termed delusional. Directed by Josh Safdie, starring Timothée Chalamet as Marty Mauser, the two-hour 30-minute part biopic, mostly fictional set in the 1950s, is sharp, fast-paced, witty and gives you an insight of the maddening storm Marty had to endure to channel his inner calm to perform. </p>.<p class="bodytext">As the focus of the plot is on everything outside the sporting arena, troubled relationships, strained USA-Japan ties post the pacific war, nuances such as arrogance and impulse turning into fear and submissiveness are all packaged with an adequate amount of flips, hooks, lobs and topspins. Chalamet is a treat to watch on screen. Gwyneth Paltrow as Kay Stone and Odessa A’zion as Rachel Mizler stand out. If the background score hits all the right cords, simple one-liners are relatable and strike an emotion. For example, towards the end of the most important match of Marty’s life, his nemesis Milton Rockwell (a business tycoon) warns, “You will never be happy again!”. How, when and where the protagonist responds to that threat and whether or not the paddler (in wide-leg, double-pleated trousers) finds ‘the core’ he was desperately on the hunt for is for you to find out in the theaters. Clue: A smile. </p>
<p class="bodytext">What is it about sports that compels someone to make it their purpose? Fame, money, recognition. Sure. But all of these are mere embellishments to the core that every athlete chases — the intoxicating feeling of winning!</p>.<p class="bodytext">‘Marty Supreme’ is Hollywood’s latest addition to the genre of sports-comedy drama. It explores the multiple layers of an American table tennis player in his quest for excellence — the heights and depths, the hope and despair, and the dreams termed delusional. Directed by Josh Safdie, starring Timothée Chalamet as Marty Mauser, the two-hour 30-minute part biopic, mostly fictional set in the 1950s, is sharp, fast-paced, witty and gives you an insight of the maddening storm Marty had to endure to channel his inner calm to perform. </p>.<p class="bodytext">As the focus of the plot is on everything outside the sporting arena, troubled relationships, strained USA-Japan ties post the pacific war, nuances such as arrogance and impulse turning into fear and submissiveness are all packaged with an adequate amount of flips, hooks, lobs and topspins. Chalamet is a treat to watch on screen. Gwyneth Paltrow as Kay Stone and Odessa A’zion as Rachel Mizler stand out. If the background score hits all the right cords, simple one-liners are relatable and strike an emotion. For example, towards the end of the most important match of Marty’s life, his nemesis Milton Rockwell (a business tycoon) warns, “You will never be happy again!”. How, when and where the protagonist responds to that threat and whether or not the paddler (in wide-leg, double-pleated trousers) finds ‘the core’ he was desperately on the hunt for is for you to find out in the theaters. Clue: A smile. </p>