MARTY SUPREME (2025)

Genre: Drama
Director: Josh Safdie
Cast: Timothée Chalamet, Gwyneth Paltrow, Odessa A'zion, Kevin O'Leary, Tyler Okonma, Abel Ferrara, Fran Drescher
Runtime: 2 hr 29 mins
Rating: M18 (Sexual Scenes and Coarse Language)
Released By: Shaw Organisation
Official Website:

Opening Day: 26 February 2026

Synopsis: Marty Mauser, a young man with a dream no one respects, goes to hell and back in pursuit of greatness.

Movie Review:

At first glance, Marty Supreme sounds like the sort of rousing sports drama built for applause — a scrappy city kid defying the odds to conquer the world of table tennis. But this is no conventional underdog tale. The film is directed by Josh Safdie, one half of the filmmaking duo behind Good Time (2017) and Uncut Gems (2019) — stories that revel in chaos, moral murkiness, and protagonists who test the limits of audience empathy. With that pedigree, it quickly becomes clear that Marty Supreme is less about inspiration and more about obsession.

Timothée Chalamet sheds any remaining traces of boyish charm to play Marty as an unapologetic douchebag. He is brash, self-absorbed, manipulative, and often exhausting to be around. Yet, against all odds, Chalamet makes him riveting. Over the film’s lean 149-minute runtime, the young actor commands attention with a performance that is equal parts grating and magnetic. His charisma here is relentless — it barrels forward, refuses to soften, and never loosens its grip on the screen. Even when Marty is at his most insufferable, Chalamet’s presence is so forceful that you find yourself locked into his rhythm. It is the kind of bold, vanity-free turn that could very well make him an Oscar winner at the 98th Academy Awards.

The premise is deceptively simple. Inspired loosely by the real life of 1940s and '50s tennis table star Marty Reisman, the film follows Marty Mauser, a small-time New York dreamer who becomes fixated on turning ping pong into a ticket to fame and fortune. What begins as backyard ambition spirals into a relentless pursuit of validation, status, and the illusion of greatness. Safdie frames Marty’s journey not as a clean climb to glory but as a manic scramble powered by ego and desperation.

Marty is the kind of acquaintance everyone recognises: the guy who talks too much, name-drops endlessly, and insists he was destined for bigger things. He clings to the narrative that life short-changed him. Yet there is something perversely admirable in his refusal to settle. He goes all out — often in misguided ways — to force the world to notice him. At times he drags others into his schemes; at others he stoops to petty crime or humiliates himself in public. His drive borders on toxic, but it is undeniably potent.

Chalamet captures this contradiction superbly. He makes Marty irritating yet compelling, pathetic yet strangely aspirational. The performance almost feels confrontational, as if he is daring the audience to keep up. His energy doesn’t merely carry scenes — it dominates them. The camera seems drawn to him instinctively, often in extreme close-ups, and even in moments of silence, there is a buzzing intensity that suggests Marty’s mind is racing toward the next scheme. He almost forcibly makes you go on this chaotic ride to greatness with him.

The supporting cast played by Gwyneth Paltrow, Odessa A'zion and Kevin O'Leary provides strong counterweights to Marty’s frenetic momentum. Yet this is undeniably Chalamet’s film. Marty Supreme may not offer traditional uplift, but its intoxicating pulse is undeniable. By the end, you may question Marty’s methods — but you might also feel a reckless urge to chase your own ambitions with the same unstoppable, if dangerous, conviction. 

Movie Rating:

(Timothée Chalamet’s relentless, magnetic charisma turns toxicity into pure screen electricity, powering a chaotic anti-hero tale that’s impossible to shake)  

Review by John Li