This Could Be the Role to Earn Chalamet His Oscar

Timothée Chalamet might finally get that Oscar. In Josh Safdie's Marty Supreme, with a 95% rating from critics on Rotten Tomatoes, Chalamet plays Marty Mauser, a fictionalized version of former US men's ping-pong champion Marty Reisman, and yes, that's really the actor doing all those table tennis stunts. In the R-rated film, set in 1952 New York, Mauser is confident in his greatness and desperate to get to the world championships in Japan. Here's what critics are saying:

• "While Marty harbors big dreams, equally sizable are the disastrous situations he finds himself in constantly," writes Brian Truitt at USA Today. He's selfish, but "thanks to Chalamet's raw charm and gumption, it's hard to stay out of his corner." Acccording to Truitt, Chalamet even manages to outdo his Oscar-deserving performance as Bob Dylan, helping to deliver "a quintessential ping-pong movie cooler than anyone ever thought possible."
• Monica Hesse gives the "very often funny" flick 3.5 stars out of 4, applauding the hard-to-beat casting and especially the "riveting" ping-pong. Chalamet is "even better than you expect," delivering a "swaggering, high-wire performance," Hesse writes at the Washington Post. But in her return to the big screen as a former movie star, Gwyneth Paltrow also impresses, able to "channel Old Hollywood with such command and ease."

• Amy Nicholson wonders if this will be the role to win Chalamet his inevitable Oscar, as the actor's ping-pong skills are incredible. Tyler, the Creator (Tyler Okonma) is also excellent in his feature film acting debut as "Marty's gambling wingman," she writes at the Los Angeles Times. The film itself is "a biography of our national ego," with contrasting opinions of hero and villain, Nicholson writes, adding that the script builds up to a final ping-pong showdown. "The catch is that Marty ... may be the bully who deserves to lose."
• From a clever opening sequence to the twists and turns of Marty's cons, Marty Supreme brings enough for a perfect score from the AP's Jocelyn Noveck, who, along with the others, can't help but praise Chalamet. He brings a "delicious synergy of actor, role and whatever fairy dust makes a performance feel both preordained and magically fresh."