Marty Supreme (2025)
Directed by: Josh Safdie
Premise: Set in 1952, a professional table tennis competitor (Timothée Chalamet) returns from the British Open and struggles to keep his career afloat.
What Works: Marty Supreme is another stress nightmare of a film by Josh Safdie. Everything about the film is pitched to put the audience on edge and like Safdie’s earlier films Good Time and Uncut Gems, the story revolves around a character who is in many ways unlikable but is also entirely watchable because of his mix of charisma and desperation. Timothée Chalamet plays Marty Mauser, an abrasive and fast-talking table tennis player who believes he is destined for greatness. Marty is a terrible person. His sense of self is fundamentally based on entitlement, he treats other people as a means to an end, and he lies, cheats, and steals as necessary to advance his career. Marty would be completely loathsome if not for the charisma that Chalamet brings to the role and his inherent underdog quality. Marty Supreme makes for an interesting addition to the sports genre which typically follows a Horatio Alger formula of underdog players rising to the top. While it fulfills the tropes of that genre, Marty Supreme also questions what winning means and by extension the values embedded in these kinds of stories. Marty Supreme is extremely well made. The filmmakers balance a gritty, naturalistic look and handheld cinematography with deliberate framing and occasionally beautiful lighting. The pacing is frantic, especially in the second half, and Mary Supreme often has a chaotic feel as though everything is about to fly apart. In addition to Chalamet, Marty Supreme has a terrific supporting cast including Odessa A’zion as Marty’s pregnant paramour and a host of minor characters cast with weathered and interesting-looking performers.
What Doesn’t: Marty Supreme is set in 1952 but it uses a lot of music from the 1980s such as “Forever Young” by Alphaville and “Everybody Wants to Rule the World” by Tears for Fears. Some of the song choices work but others are too incongruent with the period setting. This film was directed by Josh Safdie and a lot about Marty Supreme is familiar from Safdie’s other pictures, namely Good Time and Uncut Gems. Once again, Safdie tells a fast-moving story of a driven but deeply compromised character trying and largely failing to outrun his problems. While Marty Supreme is a little more mainstream than the earlier pictures, Safdie is on the verge of overplaying a very specific formula.
Bottom Line: Marty Supreme mixes breathless filmmaking with a thoughtful examination of the American success story. It isn’t as bleak as Good Time or Uncut Gems and Marty Supreme is a challenging character study and an exhilarating sports film.
Episode: #1081 (January 4, 2026)