Aahana Swrup
The Josh Safdie directorial film ‘Marty Supreme’ immerses the viewers into the larger-than-life ambition of the titular character, a 1950s ping-pong prodigy from New York. The protagonist harbors big dreams of proving himself on a global stage to be the best table tennis player in the world. In order to make this objective into a reality, Marty is willing to bend many rules, jump over dangerous fences, all the while recklessly stoking the fires of his dreams. Along the way, the athlete/hustler makes many friends and foes—mostly the latter—as he tries to prove his greatness by making it to the world championship in Tokyo, Japan, and blazing his name in the history of the sport. Timothée Chalamet delivers an electrifying performance as Marty Mauser, who is at his core a man in pursuit of respect, recognition, and renown. Thus, his identity as a table tennis player remains engrossing even beyond its on-screen sparkle.
The Real Life Table Tennis Player Who Inspired Marty Mauser’s Character
‘Marty Supreme’ largely found its inception shortly after director and co-writer Josh Safdie came into possession of a book, ‘The Money Player: The confessions of America’s greatest table tennis champion and hustler.’ The non-fiction memoir, penned by Marty Reisman, told the story of the American table tennis champion, who is today remembered as one of the stars of New York’s table tennis scene from the 1950s. The book, detailing Reisman’s exploits, both as an athlete and a showman, provided an exceptional getaway for Safdie into the reality of “misfits, obsessives, hustlers, and dreamers” of New York. As a result, it inspired the filmmaker to tell a story about a similar character who shares Reisman’s grit and ambitions, along with a few other things. Thus, the character of Marty Mauser was born from the image of the real-life table tennis player.
Still, Safdie didn’t want to tell a direct biographical story about Reisman. Hence, the name change and the deviation of several plot points from the athlete’s real life. Instead, the filmmaker and his longtime collaborator/co-writer Ronald Bronstein pored over ‘The Money Player’ and chose to only extract loose inspiration from the book. As fate would have it, Safdie had several connections to the world of Ping-pong in New York City. He grew up playing the sport with his father. Furthermore, his great uncle, a patron at the table tennis parlor, Lawrence’s, had run into many table tennis players from the 50s, including contemporaries and friends of Reisman’s. As a result, the fictional character of Marty Mauser and his narrative were built from extensive historical research, particularly in connection to the life and legacy of Marty Reisman.
The Many Similarities Between Marty Reisman and Marty Mauser
Despite Marty Mauser only being a non-biographical counterpart to Marty Reisman, the on-screen table tennis player ends up sharing many similarities with his real-life inspiration. For one, during his career, the latter was known as “The Needle” for his slender build and quick moves. Although Timothée Chalamet’s character retains a unique look of his own, he shares some of his visual aesthetic and motion with the bespectacled Reisman. Additionally, the former’s origin story in the film finds a tangible parallel to the real table tennis player. Both individuals, young prodigies in the sport of table tennis, are New Yorkers from the Lower East Side, who find their beginning by playing in Broadway Street’s underground Ping-Pong clubs.
Likewise, much like Reisman, the on-screen Marty is also known for his hustling nature. The latter also borrows many details from the real-life athlete’s life, such as his inclinations toward betting and willingness to take challenges even blindfolded. Similarly, Reisman was also often known for his showman habits, such as measuring the ping-pong net with a $100 bill. He also opened for the touring Harlem Globetrotters from 1949 to 1951 with a table tennis comedy routine that he performed alongside fellow table tennis player, Douglas Cartland. Lastly, like his on-screen counterpart, the real Reisman also had the skills to support his showmanship and ambitions. In the time that he competed in professional ping-pong, the table tennis player secured five bronze medals at the World Table Tennis Championships. Between 1946 and 2002, he earned 22 major table tennis titles, which included United States Opens and a British Open, two each.
However, Marty’s storyline focuses on a specific part of Reisman’s career, namely the year 1952, when he lost at the world championship against a Japanese player. On the other hand, for the many similarities between the real ping-pong player and his fictitious counterpart, the latter’s story also leaves out many crucial beats from the former’s life. This is most apparent in the personal relationships Marty Mauser fosters with characters like Rachel and Kay Stone, neither of whom seems to be directly inspired by Reisman’s actual wife, Yoshiko Koshino. Therefore, Marty ultimately remains a character, only loosely inspired by the real Marty Reisman, who pays homage to the real-life tennis player more than offering a biographical dramatization of his life.
Marty Mauser Finds Authenticity Through His Exceptional Ambition
While Marty Mauser’s origins reside in Marty Reisman’s legacy, the character charts a narrative of his own, which remains defined by his constant chase after his ambitions. Over the course of the story, the character lies, cheats, and cons all in the service of actualizing his great dream. Even though this paints the character in an ambiguous light, it also instills a deep sense of realism and relatability to the character. Actor Timothée Chalamet spoke about the same in a conversation with IndieWire. He said, “The gift to my career is to play projects where sometimes it’s a morally ambiguous blend to the film. Sometimes, the character is morally ambiguous. You want to play real, real people, real life.”
Chalamet continued, “Life is messy. Marty (Mauser) is a real guy that has positive qualities about him. He’s a big dreamer. He’s a hard worker. He believes in what he believes in, his native qualities. He’s not particularly attuned to other people in his life that care for him. He’s willing to cross lines ethically and physically to get to where he wants.” Thematically, this plays out in a way that almost propels Marty as an embodiment of the American exceptionalism idea, wherein he’s willing to cross many boundaries to cater to his deep-seated belief in his own greatness. Ultimately, this enhances the protagonist’s characterization, allowing his journey to feel tangible and highly realistic.
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