"One of the great animating forces in the American psyche is self-delusion. Maybe it's something we pick up because others wear it well, like slang or fashion; maybe it's an adaptation that emerged to handle cognitive dissonance, to reconcile the American subject's promise of liberty with their immediate experience of lack. Our scammer tales are as rich and delicious as folklore,"
"Filmmakers and brothers Josh and Bennie Safdie work within this rich history, with a particular specialty in neurotic, twitchy, down bad men who are clinging to a desperate hope that they're one stunt away from changing their luck. This study reached its apotheosis in Uncut Gems (2019), starring Adam Sandler as a diamond dealer's pursuit of the biggest gambling win of his life."
"Marty Supreme starts off like a standard sports drama: Marty, played by Timothée Chalamet, is megalomaniacally devoted to table tennis and chafes at his responsibilities to his sick mother (Fran Drescher); his uncle Murray (music journalist Larry "Ratso" Sloman), who employs him at his shoe store; and his pregnant, married lover Rachel (Odessa A'Zion). (Like Adrian in Rocky, Rachel works at a pet shop.)"
Self-delusion operates as a central American force that produces rich scammer folklore populated by cult leaders, con men, pyramid schemers, reality-TV stars, hustlers, grifters, Anna Delveys, and Bernie Madoffs. Filmmakers Josh and Bennie Safdie concentrate on neurotic, twitchy men who cling to the belief that one stunt will change their luck, a tendency exemplified by Uncut Gems (2019). Uncut Gems raised the brothers' profile and led to television and acting opportunities. Josh now directs solo with Marty Supreme, which follows Timothée Chalamet's Marty, a table-tennis zealot whose obsession complicates duties to his sick mother, his uncle, and his pregnant, married lover.
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