REVIEW: “Marty Supreme” (2025)

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Timothée Chalamet is on a roll with his recent projects. In his new film, “Marty Supreme,” directed by Josh Safdie, he delivers a captivating and energetic performance. The movie is driven by Chalamet’s intense acting, and he skillfully matches the fast-paced direction of Safdie.

“Marty Supreme” is incredibly energetic and keeps you hooked with its unpredictable twists. However, this fast pace doesn’t give Timothée Chalamet much room to show the character’s softer side. While his performance is captivating, the character quickly goes from somewhat likable, despite being arrogant and self-centered, to genuinely unlikeable. We only see a different side of him right at the end, but it doesn’t quite make up for the earlier, frustrating behavior.

Timothée Chalamet stars as Marty Mauser, a character based on real-life table tennis player Marty Reisman. The film takes place in 1952, and Marty is a thin, bespectacled New Yorker who’s incredibly confident – perhaps overly so. He works at his uncle’s shoe store, but feels he’s meant for bigger things, dreaming of becoming a world-famous table tennis champion and appearing on the cover of a Wheaties cereal box.

I have to admit, even though Marty is incredibly skilled at table tennis, it doesn’t take long to realize he’s just… awful. He genuinely seems to think the world revolves around him, and he’ll steamroll anyone to get what he wants. He’s a total narcissist, constantly trying to build himself up, and he uses everyone around him – his mom, his best friend, even Rachel, who’s pregnant with his child – as stepping stones. Seriously, everyone is just a means to an end for that guy.

Marty’s journey to become a top table tennis player starts at the British Open in London. He immediately focuses on beating Endo, the highly favored Japanese champion. Always thinking about his career, Marty actively promotes himself as a rising star. He also catches the eye of Kay Stone, a former actress stuck in a loveless marriage with the rich Milton Rockwell. Marty successfully starts a relationship with Kay, but fails to convince Milton to invest in his career.

Following a setback in London, Marty becomes completely focused on reaching the World Championship in Tokyo. He spends the summer entertaining crowds during halftime shows with the Harlem Globetrotters, but he still needs more money to fund his trip to Japan. Marty is determined to get there, and he’s prepared to do whatever it takes, even if it means taking risks, resorting to dishonest tactics, or acting unkindly.

Throughout the film, Safdie leads Marty through increasingly wild and risky scenarios. This raises a central question: how does anyone fall for such an obvious and self-centered scheme? While Safdie and his co-writer clearly intend for Marty to appear clever and manipulative, the people he cons often seem unbelievably gullible.

The two central female characters suffer the most in this film. While A’zion delivers a strong performance as the only truly sympathetic character amidst a cast of flawed individuals, the script unfortunately reduces her to a passive follower who blindly obeys Marty, even when he’s cruel. Similarly, Gwyneth Paltrow gives a good performance as Kay, but her relationship with Marty feels unconvincing, largely because the story requires her to appear helpless to advance his goals.

Eventually, some characters start to realize Marty is being dishonest, which creates much-needed tension and conflict. The story moves so quickly that it’s hard to keep up, but the energetic direction and Timothée Chalamet’s intense performance keep you engaged in the wild ride. However, this fast pace also makes Marty’s last-minute attempt at redemption feel unearned. After behaving badly for over two hours, he needs more than just the final ten minutes to convince us he’s changed.

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2025-12-15 18:58