Table tennis is more than a sport in Josh Safdie’s Marty Supreme. It is a critical tool for exploring human behaviour.
A simple racquet game perfectly represents life, ego and glory, all while appearing as a background for the antics of Marty Mauser, played by Timothée Chalamet.
Spoiler Warning ahead for the events of Marty Supreme.
The back and forth of table tennis
The intense, fast-paced back-and-forth of the table tennis matches played throughout mirrors what Marty experiences during the film.
Marty’s life flies back-and-forth between extreme highs and the lowest lows. It is exactly like table tennis: a back-and-forth of wins and losses until the match is complete.
As soon as Marty gets what he’s after, whether it’s money or winning a match, he loses the success in the next second.
We see this when Gwyneth Paltrow’s character Kay Stone gives Marty one of her diamond necklaces to sell and the pair immediately get arrested. This necklace was Marty’s golden ticket to the world championship and it was immediately taken away from him. He loses his chance and has to quickly move on to the next plan.
Table Tennis Equipment
The racquet and ball are two pieces of equipment integral to the film. Both the racquet and the ball represent the contrasting characters of Marty and the Japanese table tennis champion, Koto Endo.
Endo’s racquet changes the game. When Endo and his racquet make their international debut at the British Open in London, it stuns the surrounding audience.
The racquet differs from a traditional wooden racquet: it has a sponge layer. It is silent, throwing off the other players who are used to the loud, abrasive sound of the wooden racquet.
Speaking of loud and abrasive, so too is Marty’s signature orange ball. The orange ball which has become synonymous with the film, is first introduced to the audience by Marty, who complains that the white ball is invisible against white shirts.
This entire argument is vain and superficial. The colour of the ball is a complete non-issue in table tennis. The game has operated with a white ball for years without anyone else complaining.
Comically, this is shown directly to the audience when Marty tries to demonstrate his issue with a piece of paper. You can clearly see the ball against the paper.
The orange ball reflects the egotistical nature of Marty’s character. The ball is overreactive, loud, flashy, and stands out, and so is Marty.
In contrast, Endo being associated with the sponge racquet represents his humility. He doesn’t have the same overbearing ego that Marty has. Endo is silent and grounded.
After winning the British Open, Endo returns to his craftwork back in Japan. Before even arriving at the British Open, Marty quits his job as a shoe salesman and never returns.
The way the sponge racquet and orange ball are introduced to the table tennis community further reflects their users.
Endo doesn’t use the racquet with the goal of changing the sport. The audience sees the effect of the racquet and is influenced to try it themselves. The change is not forced, it flows into the sport.
Whereas, Marty is trying to force the orange ball into the sport. Marty aims to change the sport with the ball while drawing attention and credit to himself. Endo’s goal wasn’t to change the sport with the racquet, but he did.
Marty speaks for his talent; Endo’s talent speaks for him.
Talent and glory
The relationship between table tennis, talent and glory is a spectrum represented by different characters in the film.
The previous world champion was Béla Kletzki, based on Polish table tennis player Alojzy Ehrlich. Kletzki is an Auschwitz survivor who was given a special role as a bomb diffuser due to his talent at table tennis.
This leads to the infamous honey scene where Kletzki smears on honey himself, that he found while diffusing bombs in the woods, to feed the people imprisoned alongside him. He uses his talent to serve his community. There is no glory in what he does. It is pure selflessness.
Even after winning the world championship, Kletzki doesn’t bask in the glory. He is humble; yes, he is on magazine covers, but we never see him actively seeking the glory and fame that Marty yearns for.
The other side of the spectrum is Marty.
Marty has the talent of Kletzki, even beating him, but he is desperate for the glory. Marty wants to be known and remembered. We see this with the orange ball and he is talking to reporters in the Ritz. Marty is consumed by the idea of the money and power, that comes with being number one.
Endo is the perfect balance of talent and glory. He wins the titles and comes home and is backed by his entire country, yet still returns to his trade. Endo is like his racquet silent and grounded, he never seeks the glory it is simply brought to him by talent.
Marty chases glory. Endo’s talent speaks for itself because Endo’s community listens. Marty is alienated in his community. New York is never going to back Marty the way Japan backs Endo.
He will never be held to the same respect as Endo. Even if he got the world champion title, his path to get there was dirty and dishonest compared to Endo who went by talent alone.
This is what makes the final match between Marty and Endo so critical to the development of Marty’s character. He doesn’t do it for glory. He does it for the integrity of the sport.
Marty comes to the match in a white outfit paired with a tie. He appears humbled and mature. He has been humiliated and has been through all the highs and lows to get to a match that is not even close to his goal of becoming world champion.
In the end, Marty uses his talent to protect the sport. There is no glory in what he does. He celebrates the same way Endo does by grounding himself. When Marty goes home, he won’t be world champion, he will have no money, no fame, but he does it anyway.
Just like table tennis, Marty’s story is a whirlwind of wins and losses until the game is concluded.
Featured Image Credit: Kunsh Ahuja/Unsplash
