I finally saw the movie. It's no doubt well done, exciting and fast-paged and just a lot of fun if you don't let yourself think about it. But seeing it with everything going on just now politically now, it really does hit a certain way.
Marty's a striver, sure - but what he's striving for just felt pitiably small. Maybe I just don't respect his dream enough. Table tennis, really? And he's obviously talented, but what he really seems to have is purpose, by which he seems to mean that he's special and the normal rules don't apply to him. So he burns basically every relationship in his life, gets the mother of his child shot and abandons her at the hospital not knowing if she's about to die, everything else he does to his mum and uncle and investor and all the rest? If it had been in the service of something worth achieving, maybe it would have meant something, but as it was it all felt so purposeless.
& like I said, compare that to what Enzo's victories mean personally and as a symbol of a country actually climbing out from under WWII. The whole thing just felt uncomfortably like a metaphor for America generally. Like we're entitled to behave badly and hurt everyone in our wake precisely because we're American.
And around Christmas I could perhaps have laughed at it more. Now it's just not that entertaining. What a difference a few weeks make, I guess.
I was disheartened by the manner in which Josh Safdie depicted Marty, a remarkably fascinating character. In my view, he faltered in articulating the essence of genuine passion for a dream. As a retired concert pianist, I perceive Marty quite differently. I resonate with him on numerous levels. His fervent ambition to ascend to the pinnacle of success, the readiness to subject himself to utter humiliation to reach Japan, and the unwavering determination to do whatever it took to arrive there were not illuminated in the favorable light that I feel it warranted. I found the film's editing to be largely culpable for casting Marty as a morally ambiguous character, a deceitful, scheming individual lacking in ethical principles. The film fixated on these negative facets far too extensively. It neglected to reveal the profound depths of Marty’s soul. What could have been a stellar film ultimately devolved into a prolonged, repetitive narrative with diminishing impact. To craft a compelling story, one must cultivate a fondness for the character. I did not feel that Josh Safdie loved Marty. What a pity.
I'd take that class even though I don't want to be a filmmaker:
" If I taught cinema, I’d spend a couple of classes on... a perfect way to demonstrate the importance of pace, the energy that a camera move can bring to a motion picture.
My dad played underground table tennis and was friends with Marty Reisman, who supposedly was the inspiration behind Marty Mauser, so I was looking forward to this movie coming out. However, when I watched the trailer, it didn't seem like at all what I was expecting, which was more of a loose biopic, so then I was reluctant to see it. This review has changed my mind back. Sounds like a fun watch.
You had me at "Budd Schulberg's Sammy Glick." Wow - that's going deep. Would love to see a reimagining (but not updating) of The Harder They Fall someday.
It's plot is a very interesting contrast to Uncut Gems. I was almost thrilled and incredobly nervous about how it was going to end, but It's not...quite the same as a morality play. And if Phillip Roth had written this it would have been one of the great American 20th century novels.
I finally saw the movie. It's no doubt well done, exciting and fast-paged and just a lot of fun if you don't let yourself think about it. But seeing it with everything going on just now politically now, it really does hit a certain way.
Marty's a striver, sure - but what he's striving for just felt pitiably small. Maybe I just don't respect his dream enough. Table tennis, really? And he's obviously talented, but what he really seems to have is purpose, by which he seems to mean that he's special and the normal rules don't apply to him. So he burns basically every relationship in his life, gets the mother of his child shot and abandons her at the hospital not knowing if she's about to die, everything else he does to his mum and uncle and investor and all the rest? If it had been in the service of something worth achieving, maybe it would have meant something, but as it was it all felt so purposeless.
& like I said, compare that to what Enzo's victories mean personally and as a symbol of a country actually climbing out from under WWII. The whole thing just felt uncomfortably like a metaphor for America generally. Like we're entitled to behave badly and hurt everyone in our wake precisely because we're American.
And around Christmas I could perhaps have laughed at it more. Now it's just not that entertaining. What a difference a few weeks make, I guess.
I was disheartened by the manner in which Josh Safdie depicted Marty, a remarkably fascinating character. In my view, he faltered in articulating the essence of genuine passion for a dream. As a retired concert pianist, I perceive Marty quite differently. I resonate with him on numerous levels. His fervent ambition to ascend to the pinnacle of success, the readiness to subject himself to utter humiliation to reach Japan, and the unwavering determination to do whatever it took to arrive there were not illuminated in the favorable light that I feel it warranted. I found the film's editing to be largely culpable for casting Marty as a morally ambiguous character, a deceitful, scheming individual lacking in ethical principles. The film fixated on these negative facets far too extensively. It neglected to reveal the profound depths of Marty’s soul. What could have been a stellar film ultimately devolved into a prolonged, repetitive narrative with diminishing impact. To craft a compelling story, one must cultivate a fondness for the character. I did not feel that Josh Safdie loved Marty. What a pity.
Did Chalamet play in the table tennis scenes, or a really good player who looked like him?
in an interview he said he has been training since the pandemic in table tennis
I think there was a lot of CGI in his ponging tbh.
Just watched it. Very good performances and moves at a nice clip, but I was a bit, ‘ok so what exactly was the point…’ at the end
I'd take that class even though I don't want to be a filmmaker:
" If I taught cinema, I’d spend a couple of classes on... a perfect way to demonstrate the importance of pace, the energy that a camera move can bring to a motion picture.
I downloaded “What Makes Sammy Run?” a month ago and you’ve inspired me to read it.
My dad played underground table tennis and was friends with Marty Reisman, who supposedly was the inspiration behind Marty Mauser, so I was looking forward to this movie coming out. However, when I watched the trailer, it didn't seem like at all what I was expecting, which was more of a loose biopic, so then I was reluctant to see it. This review has changed my mind back. Sounds like a fun watch.
Just the name, "underground table tennis" makes me want to see it.
This is a lot of pressure!
You had me at "Budd Schulberg's Sammy Glick." Wow - that's going deep. Would love to see a reimagining (but not updating) of The Harder They Fall someday.
As a player of table tennis, I'm mostly interested in this movie for that part of it. How much time is actually spent just showing the game?
Not a ton, maybe 40 minutes?
Dagnabbit. I read this whole article to see what you'd say about Tyler. TTC is in this movie. That is all. That was always all.
He’s good! I didn’t even realize that was him tbh, haha.
Hurray. I have a teenager and pre-teen in the house so I was always going to see the Tyler movie.
Also, Merry Christmas.
It's plot is a very interesting contrast to Uncut Gems. I was almost thrilled and incredobly nervous about how it was going to end, but It's not...quite the same as a morality play. And if Phillip Roth had written this it would have been one of the great American 20th century novels.
Yeah there’s a lot of Roth in this.