As the narcissistic and hilariously overconfident Marty Supreme, Timothée Chalamet has a singular obsession with table tennis (don’t you dare call it ping pong). Hellbent on achieving championship glory, he’ll do absolutely anything to fulfill his lifelong dream. Marty’s friends, family, and besotted lovers are merely steps on his stairway to greatness, but he soon learns that clawing your way to the top inevitably leaves a few bloody scratches. Marty Supreme is a fascinating character study that runs long, with one subplot in particular creating significant pacing issues. Even so, Chalamet dazzles with moxy in a tour de force performance that may have him clearing space on the shelf this awards season.
We first meet Marty Mauser in 1952 New York City, working in his Uncle Murray’s (Larry “Ratso” Sloman) ladies’ shoe store. A frustrated Marty can barely hide his contempt for the job and has zero interest in becoming the manager. All he wants is enough money for a plane ticket to London, where he’ll compete with the U.S. table tennis team in the world championships. Nothing can steer Marty from this goal, except for hook-ups with Rachel Mizler (Odessa A’zion), a married pet store clerk who lives down the hall in the tenement apartment he shares with his doting mother, Rebecca (Fran Drescher).
Marty practices with his best friend Wally (Tyler Okonma) at a nearby table tennis club before taking drastic action to get his salary from Murray. Several days later, he’s in London with the team but entirely unsatisfied with the accommodations. A player of his elite skill and stature should be staying in the finest suite at the Ritz-Carlton. An interview with reporters leads to a chance lobby sighting of the retired actress Kay Stone (Gwyneth Paltrow), now a socialite married to the wealthy industrialist Milton Rockwell (Kevin O’Leary of Shark Tank fame). Marty makes it his mission to seduce Kay while dominating the tournament, but back home in New York, Rachel’s got a growing problem that raises suspicions with her jealous husband, Ira (Emory Cohen).
Chalamet both charms and irritates as Marty, who never takes no for an answer. He grinds people into submission with a magnetism powered by brash nerves, a cocky demeanor, and a smooth tongue. Marty’s got cojones the size of church bells and isn’t afraid to tell you about them. Director/co-writer Josh Safdie, known for collaborating with his younger brother Benny on Good Time and Uncut Gems, does a superb job of framing Marty’s outsized ego in a riveting first act. Marty wears conceit as a badge of honor, like an unrepentant conman; he truly believes he’s the best table tennis player and deserves to be treated as such, which inevitably sets him up for spectacular failure.
When Marty gets a tough comeuppance that knocks him down more than a few pegs, he’s left scrambling for footing in a way that tests his ability to overcome any obstacle. But Marty is a shameless exploiter who’s willing to lie, cheat, and steal for any chance to stay on top. Consequences mean nothing to him as he digs deeper holes that he drags his loved ones down into as well. That said, it takes two to tango, and Marty’s accomplices are enablers fully aware of his misleading proclivities; they fuel his determination in the most interesting secondary aspect of the narrative.
So, why do Kay, Rachel, and Wally put up with and support Marty’s non-stop BS? The answer is that he makes them feel alive and wanted. They find purpose in Marty’s infectious personality, no-filter attitude, and unwavering belief in himself. This is especially evident when each endangers their own well-being to give Marty repeated attempts at success. They have everything to lose and little to gain, but helping Marty is akin to bathing in the sun’s warmth – you might get burned, but getting close is worth the risk.
Marty could give Forrest Gump a run for his money in CGI table tennis. Safdie and Chalamet mine good laughs from wild matches with ridiculously exaggerated gameplay, in which Marty hams it up to please the crowd. He’s actually a great player who’s earned his seat at the table, but theatrics and trash-talking won’t help when facing a real opponent. Koto Kawaguchi plays the understated Endo, Marty’s quiet and intense Japanese foil. He’s the antithesis of Marty, providing a sharp contrast that Safdie continually underscores.
Marty Supreme is loaded with sordid sex scenes, violence, and racially offensive dialogue. Marty is Jewish and Wally is Black at a time when discrimination was far more ugly and pervasive. Neither allows discrimination to be an excuse for failure, but Marty does burn ears with his sharp retorts. Safdie and Chalamet successfully pull off some risqué jokes here – notably about the Holocaust – and straddle an edgy line in the process. They deserve credit for pushing the envelope, but not all the pulpy bits work. A laborious subplot involving a prized German Shepherd takes a solid chunk of the film’s two-and-half hour runtime to resolve. It makes no sense whatsoever and should have been truncated or completely cut. Thankfully, the strength of Chalamet’s performance and his smoldering chemistry with Paltrow and A’zion overcome this major hurdle.
Marty Supreme will be released theatrically on December 25 from A24.
- Release Date
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December 25, 2025
- Director
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Josh Safdie
- Producers
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Anthony Katagas, Ronald Bronstein, Timothée Chalamet, Eli Bush, Joe Guest, Timo Argillander
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