Marty Supreme Earned 9 Oscar Nominations, But It Deserved One More

Marty Supreme scored an impressive nine nominations at the Oscars this year, but the unorthodox sports drama deserved to get one more. Josh Safdie’s sprawling portrait of an unusually driven table tennis player is a two-and-a-half-hour thrill ride. Anchored by Timothée Chalamet’s engrossing performance in the title role, it’s the sort of film that will be discussed for decades.

As expected, Marty Supreme did quite well when the Academy Award nominations were announced. The character-driven narrative is the kind of thing the Oscars usually throw statues at, but director Josh Safdie’s vision is far from ordinary. While earning nods in important categories like Best Picture, Best Actor, and Best Director, Marty Supreme was snubbed in its most obvious category.

Marty Supreme Should Have Been Nominated For Best Original Score

Timothee Chalamet smiling with a ping pong paddle as Marty in Marty Supreme

Though the accolades heaped upon Marty Supreme are quite numerous, the Academy completely ignored the film when determining its front-runners for Best Original Score. The somewhat overlooked category celebrates the best music composed exclusively for films, and Marty Supreme has one of the most memorable scores in recent memory.

Composer Daniel Lopatin had previously worked with the Safdie brothers on Good Time and Uncut Gems, delivering his signature brand of vaporwave-inspired synth music. While it worked well for the aforementioned movies, Lopatin’s work shines brightest in Marty Supreme. Taking a page from the synth-heavy sounds of 1980s movies, the score is sweeping and powerful.

None of Daniel Lopatin’s scores have been nominated at the Academy Awards.

The best film scores not only highlight what is happening onscreen, but present a mood that accentuates the emotions of the story. Marty Supreme‘s score does both, communicating the themes through the auditory medium in perfect conjunction with Safdie’s visual storytelling. Like other synth-based composers such as John Carpenter, Lopatin creates a soundscape that draws the audience in.

However, what makes the score for Marty Supreme unique is its anachronistic nature. It takes place in the early 1950s, years before synthesized music even existed. This has an unusual effect on the film, making Marty’s struggles feel both rooted in the past and ageless at the same time. Without Lopatin’s music, the film would not have the same tone.

The music alone should have been enough for Best Original Score considerations, but it also deserves attention for how well it services the film’s narrative. There’s nothing generic about Marty Supreme, and that’s why it has been nominated for so many Oscars. The same could be said for its score, making the Best Original Score snub all the more frustrating.

Marty Supreme Doesn’t Follow The Trend Of Previous Best Original Score Winners

Marty Supreme's Timothée Chalamet as Marty Mauser — Marty Supreme’s Timothée Chalamet as Marty Mauser

Though the snub is a missed opportunity for the Academy, it follows a trend at recent Oscars. The biggest issue with the film’s score is that it is a bit too far outside the box for award recognition on the industry’s biggest stage. Recent winners have all utilized effective, if conventional, orchestrations that reflect a century of tradition.

One has to look all the way back to the early 1980s to find a synth-heavy score winning the Oscar, and that was Vangelis’ iconic Chariots of Fire. When comparing that popular sports movie with Marty Supreme, there are some similarities, but also a few glaring differences. Both are anachronistic, but Chariots of Fire is a bog-standard sports drama.

Marty Supreme‘s nine Oscar nominations are proof that unorthodox movies can succeed at the Academy Awards. However, its Best Original Score snub is also evidence that the Academy still has traditions that aren’t easily challenged. It remains to be seen how the legacy of the actual nominees will live on, but the score for Marty Supreme is already a gem.