In Manhattan’s backstreets, shoe clerk Marty dreams beyond his uncle’s shop, chasing a table tennis career after hours in smoky competition halls. Short on money, he turns to lies, stolen cash, and reckless alliances, betting relationships and morals on a fragile chance at fame.

Director Josh Safdie plays brinksmanship with the American dream in his febrile, win-at-all-costs ping pong thriller. A transfixing Timothée Chalamet fast-talks his way through a scuzzily evoked 1950s New York underworld, testing his vulpine wiles on a rogues’ gallery of scene-stealing cameos.