“I want to be one of the greats,” Timothée Chalamet shared this dream during his 2025 Screen Actors Guild acceptance speech for A Complete Unknown, though it could have just as easily been a covert start to the thunderous press run for Marty Supreme, a movie about dreaming big and chasing greatness at any cost.
Marty Supreme, directed by Josh Safdie from a script by Safdie and Ronald Bronstein, follows Chalamet as Marty Mauser, a rising table tennis star who is determined to be the best in the world. Chalamet’s involvement is an extension of his own chase, and his first real victory lap as a premiere movie star of his generation. If there was any debate about Chalamet being “one of the greats,” this film has settled it in his favor, announcing itself as a masterpiece in the process.
A Unique Ensemble Cast Supports Chalamet’s Best Performance Yet
Though Chalamet has never been a 1:1 ringer for the frequent comparisons to Leonardo DiCaprio’s career trajectory, Marty Supreme certainly feels like he has landed his very own Catch Me If You Can, a fast-paced and breakneck movie that finds him perfectly in the middle of an evolution from teen-heartthrob to fully formed capital-M Movie Star.
Mauser is a motormouthed, obnoxiously confident performer, someone so nakedly ambitious that you cannot help but root for him despite his rougher qualities. Chalamet pulls this character through revelations and personal growth that culminate in his strongest acting showcase yet, especially in the final stretch of the movie when everything is on the line.
Marty is the type of guy who brightens a room the minute he walks in with his raucous energy, only to quickly sour the mood when he says or does something crude and thoughtless enough to turn even his closest friends against him. Chalamet’s manic energy reaches new heights with this role, unafraid to appear vulnerable, deeply unlikable at times, arrogant, and in over his head. He approaches this performance with a confidence that matches Marty’s own mindset, completely uncompromising and laser-focused on his finish line.
A stellar ensemble supports Chalamet as he centers the movie. Gwyneth Paltrow is the other familiar face, playing a graceful former movie star who is equally drawn to and repulsed by Marty. Rising star Odessa A’zion is a revelation as Marty’s young love interest, and the rest of the cast is populated with real New York faces who add character to the world, as well as major supporting parts portrayed by people who are not actors by trade. Tyler Okonma (Tyler, the Creator), stage magician Penn Jillette, and filmmaker Abel Ferrera step into memorable roles. Kevin O’Leary, Shark Tank’s very own “Mr. Wonderful,” appears as a vampirically greedy businessman in one of the most vicious, authentic, and controversial examples of stunt casting imaginable. All these performers give life to Marty Supreme, supporting Chalamet at the center of this whirlwind of a movie.
1950s New York Comes to Life Through the Lens of a Niche Sporting Culture
Real people and places inform the world of Marty Supreme. Safdie drew from the rich history of a sport that is not culturally dominant, often relegated to basement play and dismissed in the larger world of sport fanaticism. Marty’s character is loosely based on the real-life Marty Reisman, a true character of the ping-pong world who was renowned for his skill and his showmanship, placing large bets and playing games with impediments like a blindfold to prove his greatness.
Marty Supreme does for table tennis what The Hustler and The Color of Money did for billiards, revealing a vivid and lively underworld centered around this game, where hustlers thrive, and danger lurks. Selling a movie as a ping-pong drama may appear to be a tall order, but this film will make you take this game as seriously as Marty.
Legendary production designer Jack Fisk recreates the period settings with remarkable care and vision. Marty Supreme’s New York feels as though you could reach out and rub the grime off your fingers. This film is messy and chaotic across every inch of every frame, very much in tune with a plot driven by a young man’s massive, unchecked ambition. Fisk brings texture to this movie that makes it feel intimate and lived in despite its globetrotting, sweeping narrative thrust.
‘Marty Supreme’ is Visually Stunning and a Sonic Masterwork
Daniel Lopatin’s cosmic, synth-driven score is the heartbeat of Marty Supreme. The music guides Marty’s every move. Every cut is motivated by the soundtrack, and not only the incredible new compositions by Lopatin, but through a series of inspired, anachronistic needle drops of 1980s New Wave songs like “Forever Young” which punctuate the major beats of Marty’s journey from the ping-pong halls of New York to the streets of London and Tokyo.
Cinematographer Darius Khondji keeps up with the frenetic energy of the movie. The keyword of Marty Supreme is “motion.” Everything is constantly in motion, with closeups and whipping camera movements accentuated by rapid editing. The only time the camera stays still is when it lingers on impressive long takes of Marty playing ping-pong. The textures and rhythms of Marty Supreme evoke great crime films of the 1970s, but Safdie’s direction, the thematically mature and fully realized story, and the impeccable craft of every person involved keep this movie from ever feeling like an imitation. Marty Supreme, much like the character himself, is in a league of its own.
10 out of 10
Marty Supreme is now playing in theaters.
This article appears in Dec. 1-31, 2025.