Marty Mauser
The Man Audiences Love To Hate
Who says your main character must be likeable?
Marty Mauser (aka #MartySupreme) is a study in combustible charisma: Timothée Chalamet’s brash, loud, arrogant, volatile, morally compromised character under Josh Safdie’s direction turns an unlikable hustler into a magnetic engine of contradiction, rhythm, and consequence. He’s not an underdog rising above the odds in a worls that dismisses him, or a kid that believes in miracles. He’s not the toad that becomes a prince.
Although Marty Mauser isn’t ideal boyfriend or daddy material, he demonstrates how a deeply flawed protagonist can become intriguing and irresistible to audiences. This phenomenon is beyond relatability or understanding Marty’s humble origins that make him a curious character study.
Conventional screenwriting wisdom suggests main characters should be likeable (unless they’re villains) with a few flaws that they neatly sort out by the end of the movie. Or at least, move in the right direction. We’re all human after all. Marty Mauser dispenses with these conventions. He would hardly make the list of Top 10 characters who should play Santa Claus or you’d love to be stranded on an island with.
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