Marty Supreme (2025)

If you've seen the posters for Marty Supreme, you'll no doubt have seen a huge number of four and five star reviews plastered all over it- a frequently used marketing trick to fool you into thinking the film is absolutely brilliant. You need to look closer and see which publications or individuals are actually making these proclamations. For the record, there's as of yet no Keane On Film quotes on these posters you see, but that will change. In terms of Marty Supreme however, the rave reviews are mostly justified. Loosely inspired by the true-life tale of legendary table-tennis hustler Marty Reisman, Josh Safdie’s film is easily the best of his solo efforts so far. And as you can imagine from the opening paragraph of this review, there are many that consider it one of the best films of 2025, and this is a film that will surely feature heavily during awards season.

Timothee Chalamet stars as Marty Mauser, a brilliant, abrasive, and obsessive table-tennis prodigy who treats the sport less like a game and more like a battlefield. His pursuit of dominance, recognition, and immortality pushes him into hustling, rivalry, and frequent self-sabotage as he tries to prove his greatness in a world in which he doesn't seem to fit- mainly because he's an enormous narcissist who cares about quite literally no-one but himself. He sprints from one disastrous situation to the next, with the film very much playing out in the chaotic style of what we’ve come to expect from either of the Safdie’s. His goal is to win the British Open in London, and to get there he steals money from the shoe store in which he works, claiming he's owed that money anyway and will be able to pay it back when he wins the tournament. Unsurprisingly to us, he's defeated by new Japanese superstar Koto Endo in the final, causing a scene at the game's finale and claiming Endo is a cheat for using a sponge racket. Whilst in London he seduces actress Kay Stone (Gwyneth Paltrow)- husband of ink-pen magnate Milton Rockwell, both of whom become key to Marty's life. Also central to Marty is Rachel (Odessa A'zion), a childhood friend who becomes pregnant with Marty's child- and has a very difficult relationship with her husband who has no idea the child isn't his. Rachel is a character that is far more central to the story than her screen time suggests; mainly for the fact that she's proof of Marty's horrendously selfish outlook on everything. He's constantly broke, lurching from one loan to the next, destroying every relationship he has as he chases whatever it is that will finally make him happy. He seems to think it will be winning the World Championships in Tokyo- but how he's going to make the journey there with no money and the pandemonium around him (of his own creation) is anyone's guess. But this is the crux of Josh Safdie's film, and it pulls you into its frenetic pacing with no let up whatsoever. What's also hugely impressive about it is that it's impossible to tear your eyes from it; despite Marty being a truly dreadful character, you're glued to the screen. It's transfixing, aided by yet another brilliant soundtrack from Daniel Lopatin who's a frequent collaborator of the Safdie's.

Marty Supreme brings a very different approach to what feels like it should be a sports movie but is frequently anything but- just like Good Time (2017) and Uncut Gems (2019) this is a film about a character charging into one ill-advised situation after another, and yet it’s never boring and constantly entertaining. Chalamet is terrific in the central role, one of his finest performances to date, creating a vortex of madness around him as his life becomes a dash towards his hopes and dreams, consequences be damned. Where it doesn't work is in the scenes of sports themselves. Early on when the camera is viewing the action at a distance, the reality of the game doesn't matter to much. But later on when the table tennis is the main focus of the screen, it's far too easy to tell that what we're seeing isn't real. The movement of the actors however, proves they've been trained for the scenes, meaning this is a far better attempt than something like Challengers (2024) which got the basics horribly wrong. For those not into their sport, it's probably something that won't bother you here, but for table tennis players, it's obvious. And I didn't buy the film's final scene for a second. It would give it all away to describe it, but considering Uncut Gems ends in the only way it possibly could, Marty Supreme offers you something you simply can't get on board with considering what's come before. There are those that would disagree, but this- like Uncut Gems- is about an individual who is hugely unlikeable yet imminently watchable; the difference is that Uncut Gems backs up what it's been showing you all along, Marty Supreme asks you to believe in something you simply can't. That said, Marty Supreme is a terrific piece of work, hugely enjoyable with some outstanding performances (a cameo from Tyler, the Creator is especially welcome) - and ratchets along at such a pace, you're willing to mostly forgive it's flaws. 8.2/10