Title – Marty Supreme (2025)

Director – Josh Safdie (Uncut Gems)

Cast – Timothée Chalamet, Gwyneth Paltrow, Odessa A’zion, Tyler the Creator

Plot – New York hustler and table tennis superstar Marty Mauser (Chalamet) will stop at nothing to achieve his grand dreams during the rise of the sport in the early 1950’s.  

“I’m Hitler’s worst nightmare”

Review by Eddie on 06/02/2026

As big, bold and audacious of a feature you’re likely to see come out of Hollywood, calling to mind a very similar energy and playfulness that was found in fellow 2025 awards heavyweight and critical darling One Battle After Another, Josh Safdie’s first solo directional outing after his unceremonious breakdown with brother and frequent collaborator Benny is one to remember.

Very loosely based on the life of and inspired by real New York born table tennis champion and hustler Marty Reisman, Marty Supreme has been in the pipeline for over 5 years as Safdie, his writing partner Ronald Bronstein and star Timothée Chalamet worked to bring this vision to life, which has now been gifted to the world as a wild swing of a film that doesn’t work out flawlessly but provides us with a significant piece of entertainment regardless.

Clocking in at right around two and a half hours when all is said and done, Supreme covers a lot of ground as we are (very cheekily) introduced to the world of Chalamet’s Marty Mauser, a 23 year old New York big dreamer who will stop at nothing to achieve his ultimate goal of becoming the world’s best table tennis player but financial troubles, lost dogs, poor plumbing and dalliances with aging Hollywood starlets are all players in why Marty’s ideas don’t always go to plan.

Bringing the same amount of energy and franticness he instilled into his breakout hit Good Time and mastered with the instant Adam Sandler classic Uncut Gems, Safdie rarely lets Supreme take a breath, for better and worse and as Daniel Lopatain’s fiercely composed score accompanies proceedings through most moments, Safdie has ensured that his unique and experimental experience is one that’s hard to compare to anything else.

Very far from what some might suspect on paper to be a mere table tennis biopic that just so happens to be a post-World War 2 period drama, of which it looks the part thanks to legendary production designer Jack Fisk’s behind the scenes work and Darius Khondji’s cinematography, there’s sprinklings of the Coen Brothers here, a touch of Paul Thomas Anderson and some dialogue that has possibly crossed the mind of Quentin Tarantino at some stage, ingredients that combine to create a film that will be loved by many and loathed by some.

What can’t be denied here by anyone that may not connect with the film in a way like many did on its road to receiving 9 prominent Oscar nominations and a box office haul that is likely to see it become distributor A24’s highest grossing film at the global box office, is the lead performance of Chalamet.

A commanding turn that is present in almost 100 percent of Supreme’s scenes, Chalamet has rightfully received his third Oscar nomination for his role here and it looks as though he will be the recipient come Oscars night, an award that will be rightfully earned through much blood, sweat, tears and years’ worth of table tennis practice.

There’s no doubt that Mauser is a complicated central figure, he’s brash, arrogant, selfish and at times reprehensible but at the same time we want the determined and committed hustler and swindler to reach the goals he’s set before him, and Chalamet is a sight to behold here working through a range of situations and emotions that culminates in a finale that solidified his Oscar win as soon as it aired.

Unlikely to be for everything, there’s flaws on show in Supreme and Safdie from a directional point of view can still come across as a little self-indulgent, but all can be forgiven here as Supreme marches on its merry way with an eclectic cast, an effervescent energy and enthusiastic soul that combine to gift us a film like no other, warts and all.

Final Say –

An entirely original offering based in the sporting drama space, Marty Supreme is hard to describe and at times decipher but there’s no denying its creativity, spark and a central turn that has marked Timothée Chalamet’s name down as one of the undisputed greats.

4 bee hives out of 5