Marty Supreme Review: Timothée Chalamet Soars in Josh Safdie’s Sports Drama

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Though widely praised for its intensity, Uncut Gems seemed to represent the peak of the creative partnership between brothers Benny and Josh Safdie. However, their recent solo projects suggest that they may have been more creatively potent working independently. Josh Safdie’s latest film, in particular, is his most gripping and powerful work to date.

I have to say, even with my high expectations, this might be Timothée Chalamet’s best performance yet. He’s consistently amazing, but here, he uses all his natural charisma to make you root for a character who’s often really difficult to like. The story is fascinating – it’s based on the life of a table tennis player, but the script beautifully weaves in elements of 1950s Brooklyn, the myth of Icarus, and even feels like an 80s sports movie! The director really takes all these layers and builds incredible tension – it’s even more gripping than anything he’s done before with his usual filmmaking partner.

Safdie and Chalamet Put Backspin On 1980s Sports Movie Clichés

Timothée Chalamet stars as Marty Mauser, a supremely confident and skilled table tennis player who’s as charming as he is determined. He narrowly avoids a life selling shoes in Brooklyn, escaping by taking the money he’s owed, and heads to London for a major ping-pong tournament despite his loved ones’ concerns. Dissatisfied with the basic lodging provided, Marty upgrades to a luxurious hotel, where he catches the attention of Kay Stone (Gwyneth Paltrow), a movie star looking for excitement after years of a stalled career, leading to a short-lived romance.

Marty puts on a confident front, but ultimately loses the championship to Koto Endo, a Japanese player who is quiet and unassuming—and possesses a nearly impossible-to-defeat technique. Back home and defeated, Marty teams up with his friend Wally to earn money for a comeback. Meanwhile, he learns his childhood friend Rachel is pregnant and believes he’s the father.

With the police closing in on accusations of theft and his relationships crumbling due to a string of mistakes, he desperately seeks financial help from an unexpected source: Milton Rockwell (Kevin O’Leary), the wealthy husband of someone he knows. Even if he can get Rockwell to fund his rematch with Endo, it could cost him dearly – potentially ruining his career and, even more importantly, his self-respect.

The description I gave doesn’t even begin to capture everything that happens in this movie – it actually makes me want to rewatch it immediately. Like the Safdie brothers’ previous film, Uncut Gems, it’s incredibly energetic and fast-paced, which could be overwhelming, but it’s also completely thrilling while you’re watching. The film takes big risks right from the start: the opening credits feature a striking image that transitions from a fertilized egg to a ping pong ball with the movie’s title on it, all while a character delivers a powerful serve in a tense match.

The film feels very much like a classic 1980s sports movie, telling the story of a talented athlete facing a tough rival and battling for the chance to prove who’s better. The director clearly draws inspiration from films like Martin Scorsese’s After Hours and The Color of Money, using dynamic camera work to capture the speed, accuracy, and unpredictable nature of the sport. The soundtrack further enhances this ’80s vibe; composer Daniel Lopatin (known for Good Time and Uncut Gems) creates a score alongside synth-pop hits like “Everybody Wants to Rule the World” and “Forever Young.” This musical combination actually feels more reminiscent of films like The Karate Kid and Rad from that era than the film’s actual 1950s setting.

However, Safdie immerses the film in a vividly detailed, working-class Jewish New York of the 1950s. This attention to setting evokes the immersive worlds of films like The Godfather and Sergio Leone’s Once Upon a Time in America – the tight-knit communities, underlying tensions, and the realistic, sometimes stifling, advice from family and elders that threatens to crush a young man’s ambition. His mother, uncle, and even his sweetheart dismiss his talent as foolishness, but this only fuels his determination.

When paired with a complete lack of shame, Marty’s relentless drive leaves a string of hurt and betrayed people behind him. Timothée Chalamet brilliantly captures this complexity – his performance is as precise and skillful as Marty’s table tennis ability. While Marty’s unwavering self-belief and ambition are initially appealing, the negative impact they have on everyone around him – including himself – becomes clear quickly, and worsens as he becomes more desperate. Chalamet fully embodies Marty’s childishness, impulsiveness, and selfishness, making it easy to see why people are both captivated and frustrated by him, often simultaneously.

Gwyneth Paltrow’s own relaxed approach to acting lends believability to her character’s fading fame. She plays Kay Stone with a subtle understanding of the role’s nuances—intelligent enough to see through manipulation, yet vulnerable enough to be taken advantage of—proving she hasn’t lost her acting ability. As Kay navigates a difficult marriage with an aggressive man (Emory Cohen) and secretly carries Marty’s child, she becomes a compelling partner, even an accomplice, to Marty’s determined pursuit of personal satisfaction. While Marty’s charisma is undeniable, Kay skillfully moves around him, maintaining her own presence and never being overshadowed.

The film features strong performances from its veteran actors, including Fran Drescher, Sandra Bernhard, Abel Ferrara, and Penn Jillette, with the latter two delivering especially unsettling portrayals. Surprisingly, Kevin O’Leary, the Shark Tank investor, goes toe-to-toe with Timothée Chalamet, holding his own remarkably well. While new to acting, O’Leary convincingly embodies the character by drawing on his experience as a businessman, and his combination of ruthlessness and coldness provides a stark contrast to Chalamet’s character. Every interaction between them feels tense and dangerous, like watching two powerful tigers sizing each other up—one experienced and calculating, the other young and fiercely competitive.

I was completely blown away by Marty Supreme. The Safdie brothers really don’t let up – it’s a much faster pace than you’d find in films by directors like Scorsese or Paul Thomas Anderson, and while that might not be for everyone, I think it works brilliantly here. It packs so much in – big sports movie moments and a really incredible journey for Marty himself – it actually gives you more than you expect. It’s ambitious and stylistically bold, which makes it feel like it could be from many different filmmakers, but ultimately it feels like a totally unified and unique vision. Honestly, it’s a masterpiece.

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2025-12-01 20:01