Thanks to “Marty Supreme,” I now have a new fear of old 1950s-style bathtubs. The latest from director Josh Safdie showcases all of his strengths and tendencies that we’ve become accustomed to by now. The story of Marty Mauser, played by Timothée Chalamet, features a young man on a relentless pursuit of greatness in the table tennis world. It’s extremely fast-paced, anxiety-ridden and full of disasters as Marty goes on a globe-trotting hell ride to become the number one ping pong player in the world.
“Marty Supreme” (2025) Review | Timothée Chalamet Makes His Case for an Oscar
Timothée Chalamet Is Coming for an Oscar
By now, Safdie has become notorious for writing the most narcissistic, self-centered main characters that you can’t help but cheer for. Marty is exactly that. He treats the ones that love him like the plague, avoiding them at all costs to chase his dream. He’s a swindler, scammer and degenerate that only thinks of himself and his way of life. He goes to extreme measures to be the best at what he truly believes is his purpose in the world. Marty leaves everyone else in the dumpster like the trash that gets tossed away.
To say Timothée Chalamet achieves this is an understatement. He’s incredibly unlikable, but turns in his best performance yet in his very young career. You can’t help but hate his character with the dedication he puts forth, yet as mentioned, you’re cheering for him. Chalamet will, without a doubt, be nominated for Best Actor at the Academy Awards, and there’s definitely a strong chance his name is etched in that statue when it’s said and done.
Pacing & Score To Keep Anxiety High
The story and pacing are exactly what you’d expect from a Josh Safdie movie. It moves at the speed of light, is loud, tests your anxiety and the most horrible things happen to our main character that you don’t see coming. “Marty Supreme” pulls you in, straps you down and locks in your senses for the entire 2.5 hours. There are no points in this film that feel like they drag; that’s how fast this thing moves.
To top off the story and pacing, we get an astounding score from Daniel Lopatin. The music and sounds created for this add to the anxiety and atmosphere in the best way possible. I found it to be very similar to what Lopatin created for “Uncut Gems,” which created the same feeling.
There are many “what the fuck” moments in this that come out of left field. You don’t see them coming and they really change how you feel about the story in many different situations and scenes. This isn’t just a ping pong film. In fact, you probably see Chalamet play the game itself for 30 minutes out of this nearly two-and-a-half-hour film. It goes from sports drama to action thriller to crime drama at the drop of a hat.
A Supporting Cast That Surprises With Great Performances
Aside from Timothée Chalamet, the rest of the cast play their parts to a tee. Gwyneth Paltrow and Odessa A’zion are fantastic, but Tyler Okonma and Kevin O’Leary were both standouts in their supporting roles. Yes, that’s Tyler, the Creator and the main guy from “Shark Tank.” Both display great acting chops and are incredibly impressive. A nice touch in the casting also comes from Fran Drescher in a role so unrecognizable that I didn’t know it was her until the credits rolled.
After sitting on this for nearly 24 hours and debating with myself about it, “Marty Supreme” slides into my top spot for the number one movie of 2025. It’s damn close with “One Battle After Another,” but it’s hard to dismantle Timothée Chalamet’s performance.
“I’m going to do to Kletzki what Auschwitz couldn’t.” – Marty Mauser
“Marty Supreme” is out now in theaters.
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