BROOKLINE, Mass. — A packed house filled the Coolidge Corner Theatre’s main moviehouse on Friday night in an event that served as a sneak peek for one of this upcoming award season’s presumed Oscar darlings and a homecoming for an acclaimed director.
A line wrapped around the Coolidge’s Art Deco facade for a chance to see Marty Supreme, the latest entry from Uncut Gems director Josh Safdie’s visceral and anxiety-inducing canon.
Set in 1950s New York, the film follows Timothée Chalamet’s Marty Mauser, a young man aiming for the top of the table tennis mountaintop by any means necessary.
While the Coolidge is no stranger to advanced screenings and hosting acclaimed directors, the 92-year-old indie theater nestled between a CVS and a pizza shop has risen to the world stage as an exhibitor of the best in movie-making.
Last month, the Coolidge was one of just four theaters worldwide to show One Battle After Another in Vistavision, an old-school form of projecting film where the strip runs horizontally through the projector.
It was a form of film-going most audiences hadn’t seen in decades.
"We have a reputation of handling film, on a world-class stage when it comes to our tech staff and our projectionists. We frequently host director in-person events. And sometimes they have been for films that are in contention for awards,“ the Coolidge’s Art Director, Mark Anastasio, described to Boston 25 News. ”Overall, the success of this place I attribute to the incredible team that we have working here, from every member of our administration to everybody on our box office staff. It’s a place where everyone working here truly loves film and is striving to do the best programs and presentations possible. That’s the truth of it."
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In addition to new releases, the Coolidge often features a monthly repertory series highlighting classic movies. Anastasio says classic movies have become a big-time draw for the younger crowd.
“We were seeing people in their 20s and 30s coming here as the more predominant demographic, and they’re coming out not just for first round features, but for all of the classics that we run in any one of our signature repertory programs," said Anastasio. "I don’t know if Letterboxd is driving people to cinemas or if people going to see films in cinemas are driving them to Letterboxd, but you’re seeing a lot more community, coming up around film culture. And we become a hub for that. And we’re, we’re leaning we’re we’re really we’re trying to be that."
Those showings of older movies are often shaped by what’s new, according to Anastasio.
“We’re coming up with film programs responding to what our audience is asking for. Sometimes it’s what’s going on in popular culture, sometimes it’s what’s going on in film culture. A lot of the time, it’s what people are interested in currently, with films,” Anastasio detailed. “If we’re doing a, a dangerous love series like in February for Valentine’s Day, or just having fun with Godzilla films over the summer, I try to plan our calendar in a way where there’s truly something for everybody here each night of the week, and throughout the month."
After the showing, which received a raucous standing ovation, director Josh Safdie discussed the film with his former professor at Boston University.
Safdie shared how Mauser’s Table Tennis saga in Marty Supreme was at least partially shaped by his own journey in Hollywood.
“A dream really is about control of trying to control your fate,” Safdie shared.
Marty Supreme releases nationwide on Christmas.
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