Marty Supreme
Timothée Chalamet plays a hustler with an inflated self-belief in his ability to become a world-class table tennis champion.
Timothée Chalamet.
Image courtesy of Entertainment Film Dists.
by JAMES CAMERON-WILSON
Marty Mauser was a scrawny, nerdy, myopic 23-year-old New Yorker – and was under the illusion that he owned the world. In spite of his poor beginnings, Marty felt that only the best was good enough for him. And, drawing on his chutzpah like engine oil, it wasn’t long before he found himself in bed with a movie star at the Ritz in London. It’s astonishing what self-confidence can do for a guy. And yet Marty Mauser did have genuine talent, not just as a shoe salesman (he “could sell shoes to an amputee”), but as a ping pong player. Convinced of his world-class abilities with a paddle, Marty stole $700 from his boss to pay for his flight to London to compete in the British Open table tennis championships…
Not a year goes by when Timothée Chalamet doesn’t seem to have another hit to his credit, be it critically or commercially, or both. And Marty Supreme is cinematic rocket fuel. Already a major contender for Oscar glory, the movie draws on the manic energy of Anora and yokes it to the momentum of One Battle After Another. Running at 149 minutes, it just refuses to pause for breath, and when it ends it leaves us gasping for more. Working alongside his younger brother Benny, the director Josh Safdie has garnered enormous critical acclaim for Good Time and Uncut Gems, but here he goes it alone and shows an extraordinary skill for blending sound, image and performance.
Populating his film with marvellous character turns from the unknown faces of businessman Kevin O’Leary, fellow director Abel Ferrara, rapper and record producer Tyler Okonma and playwright David Mamet, Josh Safdie brings a raw authenticity to his dramatis personae (O’Leary, in particular, is brilliant). This is a world that does not feel familiar, but edgy, unpredictable and dangerous. It should be pointed out, though, that this is a reimagining of the remarkable life of the table tennis champion and hustler Marty Reisman, and not a slavish biopic. This reinterpretation does give Safdie and his co-writer Ronald Bronstein free rein to fashion a helter-skelter drama that brings a new flamboyance and sex appeal to the world of ping pong, making Forrest Gump look like an automaton.
Utilising probing close-ups and kinetic camerawork, the director sucks us into Mauser’s world where the consequences of his impudence and rudeness come back to bite him where the sun don’t shine. Even so, Chalamet’s frenetic, naked performance makes us root for him, if only to marvel at his sheer ambition and self-belief. And, of course, for his extraordinary talent. Marty’s was a wild life and this is one helluva wild ride, capturing the spirit of Reisman, with the odd dog and corrupt cop thrown in for dramatic effect. But what drama.
Cast: Timothée Chalamet, Gwyneth Paltrow, Odessa A’zion, Kevin O’Leary, Tyler Okonma, Abel Ferrara, Fran Drescher, Luke Manley, Emory Cohen, Larry ‘Ratso’ Sloman, Ralph Colucci, Géza Röhrig, Koto Kawaguchi, Pico Iyer, John Catsimatidis, Sandra Bernhard, George Gervin, Penn Jillette, Isaac Mizrahi, David Mamet, Fred Hechinger, Levon Hawke, Isaac Simon.
Dir Josh Safdie, Pro Josh Safdie, Ronald Bronstein, Eli Bush, Anthony Katagas and Timothée Chalamet, Screenplay Ronald Bronstein and Josh Safdie, Ph Darius Khondji, Pro Des Jack Fisk, Ed Ronald Bronstein and Josh Safdie, Music Daniel Lopatin, Costumes Miyako Bellizzi, Sound Chris Chae.
Central Pictures-Entertainment Film Dists.
149 mins. USA. 2025. US Rel: 25 December 2025. UK Rel: 26 December 2025. Cert. 15.
