Timothée Chalamet stars in Josh Safdie’s unusual sports comedy-drama about a table-tennis player that’s among the most enthralling films of the year.
Marty Supreme
Directed By: Josh Safdie
Written By: Ronald Bronstein and Josh Safdie
Starring: Timothée Chalamet, Odessa A’zion, Gwyneth Paltrow, Kevin O’Leary, Tyler Okonma
Release Date: December 25, 2025
If you had told me a sports film (which I’m not terribly into normally anyway) focused on a ping-pong player, who’s not the best human being, would end up being one of the most engaging films I’ve watched this year, I would have never believed you. And yet, here we are with Marty Supreme.
It’s a surprising film, at once humorous and filled with tense drama, oozing with a charm and charisma that matches its titular character. From the opening scene, there’s a tangible momentum to the story that sucks you in. Like jumping in a river, you can’t help but let the current take you wherever it wills. There are unexpected turns, heart-pounding thrills, and lessons to be learned. The result is a movie that feels more like something you experience rather than watch.
Generally speaking, the movie presents itself as a rather straightforward story. Marty Mauser, small-time hustler in Lower East Side of Manhattan in the 1950s with big dreams. The goal is to be the best table tennis player in the whole world. There’s no denying he has the talent and he spends his time working to prove himself in large-scale tournaments as the sport begins to take the spotlight.
I don’t wanna get too much into specifics to avoid spoilers, but let’s say that the main plot is centered on Marty doing everything he can in order to make it to Japan for the World Championships. Not only is it a chance for him to prove himself on the global stage, and silence all the doubters, but it offers a shot at personal redemption against the person who beat him before.
But that’s the plot. The story in the film is seeing how Marty’s toxic ambition leads him to use anyone and everyone in his life to achieve his goals. From newer people he meets that he thinks can take him to greatness, to his oldest friends and family, no one is safe from Marty’s machinations.
Everything is bolstered by a cast that’s ridiculously impressive in every scene. Gwyneth Paltrow’s Kay Stone is such a fascinating character. A former movie star eager to reclaim the validation of her earlier success and is married to Kevin O’Leary’s vicious and opportunistic businessman, Milton Rockwell. Odessa A’zion as Rachel Mizler is easily the character Marty has the most connection to. Her history with Marty and pregnancy form a pivotal anchor and timeframe for the whole film. Everyone is just giving their all, and deliver on characters that feel fully fleshed out, and VITAL, even when they have minimal screentime.
Hell, Fran Drescher only has a handful of scenes as Marty’s mom, Rebecca, but she’s embodies it so fully, I can’t imagine the film without her presence. It’s not only a testament to the acting strength Safdie manages to elicit from everyone, but serves to highlight the impressive way the story is crafted. Even the super minor characters feel crucial to Marty’s story, even the one and done people that pop up.
Timothée Chalamet is undeniably a standout, however. His on screen charm and kinetic personality enamors the audience much the same way as he does the characters within the story. It makes for a wild ride, mostly because the film makes it abundantly clear that Marty is not a good person. He’s actually pretty terrible guy all around and even as we watch him manipulate the people in his life, especially those who deserve better, it’s almost impossible to hate him for it.
This is easily the most impressive aspect of the film, and the key to how engaging it ends up being. Despite the fact we can easily recognize how awful—and narcissistic—Marty is, you find yourself rooting for him.
I spent almost the entirety of the film alternating between wanting to see all his scheming pull off and hoping he gets what he deserves in order to learn a lesson. The film straddles this dichotomy from the very beginning, creating a push and pull kind of tension that leaves you hopelessly enthralled for all of its runtime.
It’s hard to explain, considering it’s largely a sports drama and a period piece, but this baseline tension is so ever-present in every scene, it feels more like a thriller. At the start of every scene, I found myself asking, “how’s he going to turn this to his advantage?” or “how is he planning on using these people?” And yet, knowing this is exactly what he’s doing, I still wanted to see him make it work. Not only did I share in his frustration when a grift didn’t pan out as planned, I was frustrated when he refused to learn something from it.
It feels like a movie that I should have hated. I don’t want to empathize with a toxic person, and was genuinely pissed when the good people in the story kept getting hurt by him. But, that’s really the beauty of the film overall. While you find yourself drawn into the story by it’s rapid pacing and the pure charm Marty oozes, it’s story is very much criticizing him. It’s not about celebrating a terrible person’s hustle, instead it puts a spotlight on how awful that kind of ambition can be, even when others continue to show support. It makes for a clever critique wrapped in a dynamic package, with an ending that feels more satisfying the longer I think about it.
