The Wasteland Reviewer

Marty Supreme (2025) Written Review

How far will you go to make your dreams come true? It would seem like the theme of this year’s holiday movie season is “Dream Big”. Josh Safdie has a knack for telling stories about dreamers who do not have the best sense of what is the right way to achieve AND enjoy that dream. Good Time and Uncut Gems showed that the Safdie Brothers know how to build tension and anxiety for their audience. These filmmaking brothers have set on their own paths in 2025 and Josh’s new film Marty Supreme is here to tell another story of an ambitious and reckless protagonist whose search for his dreams will burn the world around him down. 

How does Safdie bring the story of Marty Mauser to life? If a Safdie film means anything, they are stressful and tense. Marty Supreme is no different with its fever pitch of anxiety along the way with its two-and-a-half-hour epic story. The pacing of the film is unrelenting with the story propelling forward with incredible chaos and energy. There is something deeply engrossing about this film despite who scattered the narrative and how long the runtime is. Marty’s life is pure chaos and this being from his perspective, the chaotic energy fits perfectly. The cinematography is gorgeous with great scope, uncomfortable intimacy, and vintage filmic zeal. Cinematographer Darius Khondji helps craft Safdie’s vision and bring this epic film to life on the silver screen. Another significant piece of the experience is the music. There are some bold and anachronistic choices with 80s hits that elevate and accentuate the emotions of the film (especially at the beginning and end). But the score from composer Daniel Lopatin is even bolder, unique, and fascinating. Each scene is elevated by the incredible intensity, and this score helps the propulsive energy of the film build. The action in the film is thrilling as well. This is indeed a sports movie, and the table tennis sequences (especially the final confrontation) are downright incredible. 

Does the story match up to the epic, anxiety-inducing presentation? This is a simple, linear concept of a film. Marty needs to make it to Japan for the World Championship of Table Tennis. The actual steps to get there are where the chaos comes into play. The film does feel convoluted but that is part of the course in the life of Marty Mauser. One of the other elements that feels a bit off is the underwritten female characters throughout the film. Except for one (Gwyneth Paltrow’s aging actor Kay Stone), most of the women in the story lack layers or depth but unfortunately reflects the complete lack of care of Marty and he sees them all as steppingstones (even the mother of his child Odessa A’zion’s Rachel). The film is full of characters, story threads, and grifts as Marty will do anything to reach the pinnacle of his sport. In the opening act, we witness the ego of Marty shaken by a devastating loss to a Japanese competitor who is everything he is not (reserved, respectful, and focused). The journey is quite satisfying and pays off with an incredible final match between them. But the rocky road to get there is thrilling, shocking, and full of violent twists and turns. The story of Marty and his rollercoaster journey is hard to ignore. 

How about this interesting and diverse cast? The Safdies have a knack for combining casts of actors and non-actors. Marty Supreme certainly benefits from having one of the most talented and ambitious young actors around at the core. Timothee Chalamet is a force of nature here as he is full of endless ego, drive, and manipulation. Chalamet fills his character with all the confidence he has for himself as an actor. But there are a few moments that show vulnerability and the final few scenes show off the range Chalamet has and the emotions he can convey. Paltrow delivers one of her best performances as a middle-aged woman who uses Marty just as much as he attempts to use her. A’zion has a character who is a bit too one note, but she brings plenty of energy and charisma to Rachel. Real life businessman and Shark Tank star Kevin O’Leary plays the perfect arrogant business mogul who goes toe-to-toe with Marty throughout. You get some dashes of Fran Drescher, Abel Ferrera, Emory Cohen, and even Penn Jillette. An epic story matched with an epic ensemble. 

Does Marty Supreme live up to the hype? Safdie and Chalamet deliver an experience that is incredible. You will never know where the plot is twisting too. The anxiety and tension are a fever pitch. There is something impressive when it comes to this film and the bold presentation. You know from the opening credits (which is one of the most memorable and ends with one of the most inspired edits in film this year) that this is going to be something truly special.