Marty Supreme is my first introduction to the Safdie Brothers’ films. Josh and Benny Safdie decided to go their separate ways to make two different sports-themed movies. Josh Safdie took on this table-tennis dramedy, while his younger brother Benny opted to direct Dwayne Johnson in the MMA-fighter biopic, Smashing Machine.
I was intrigued to check this out after reading that the character was inspired by a real ping-pong hustler from NYC’s Lower East Side named Marty Reisman, even though the film isn’t really a biopic. Timothée Chalamet has been receiving all sorts of praise portraying one unsympathetic character after another; in 2024, he took on the role of Bob Dylan in A Complete Unknown, where Joan Baez referred to him as an a**hole. But honestly, Dylan is a saint compared to Marty, a working-class New Yorker in the early 1950s, toiling away in a shoe store with gargantuan dreams of becoming a ping pong star.
He declines a managerial role offered by his uncle, who runs the shoe store, while sneaking around to hook up with his married childhood friend Rachel (Odessa A’zion) and plotting his way to London for a ping pong tournament. I do admire those who have big dreams and are willing to go the extra mile to achieve them… but to a point. Marty will stop at nothing to get what he wants, which appears to be fame and fortune, even going as far as robbing his own uncle. His arrogance is as notable as his impressive paddle skills.
Once he arrives in London, he gripes about the budget hotel he’s stuck in and somehow manages to con his way into the Ritz Hotel, where he charms a past-her-prime actress, Kay Stone (Gwyneth Paltrow). How a brash, scrawny kid with a pockmarked face can charm so many people is the stuff of movies’ make-believe. Next, he sets his sights on Kay’s husband, Milton Rockwell (Shark Tank’s Kevin O’Leary), whom he sees as his financial ticket. During a few international tours, Marty briefly teams up with another ping-pong champion and Holocaust survivor, Bela Kletzki (Géza Röhrig). I would have loved to learn more about Kletzki; he seems like an intriguing character with a dark past, but there’s no time for that. There’s still plenty of hustling and scheming ahead.
Chalamet is in almost every scene, yet we never really learn who Marty is beyond his big dreams. He shows little gratitude to those who care about him, like his uncle and his mom (Fran Drescher). I get that a lot of kids want to break free from financially dependent parents, but he’s almost hostile towards her. That stifling relationship clearly fuels his delusions of grandeur to make it big. He’s truly in full scoundrel mode here, stirring up chaos everywhere and creating issues for his friends, like his taxi-driver buddy Wally (Tyler Okonma), yet he stays completely unrepentant and selfish. I’ve cheered for shady characters in films before, even the bad guys, but Marty just rubs me the wrong way. The fact that the 30-year-old actor thinks very highly of his own ‘top of the line’ performance is even more off-putting.
That said, I applaud Chalamet for his commitment; he actually trained for seven years to play ping-pong. His energy is through the roof, and it’s obvious he put everything into this role in pursuit of greatness. While the performances are good, the women here feel like superficial representations rather than fully developed characters. They serve as mere pawns for Marty throughout his journey, but not all of them are innocent, of course; even Rachel resorts to deceit and manipulation at her poor husband’s (Emory Cohen) expense. As the movie progresses, it becomes increasingly frantic and off the rails. The bloodiest mess features a mobster named Ezra Mishkin (Abel Ferrara) and his beloved dog, Moses. Perhaps Safdie is trying to make some sort of Old Testament allegory with Marty going in circles, trying to reach his elusive ‘promised land.’
Written by Safdie and Ronald Bronstein, the script is filled with relentless action that stretches from New York to Japan. The ping pong scenes are well-choreographed and pretty entertaining to watch, especially the competition in Japan between Marty and his main rival Endo (Koto Kawaguchi). Safdie is making a mark by creating a major narrative feature film that specifically highlights the underground scene of table tennis. I also find the anachronistic song selections amusing, featuring ’80s hits like Tears for Fears’ Everybody Wants to Rule the World (that’s quite on the nose) and Peter Gabriel’s I Have the Touch.
I caught this movie back in December before the buzz went into overdrive. Since then, I’ve seen it getting tons of praise, which I find quite baffling. But every year, there’s always a couple of films that I just don’t understand the hype for, and this year, it’s Marty Supreme. Despite all the action on screen, it doesn’t really say much in the end. The finale that suggests Marty might be a changed man doesn’t feel earned. By the time the movie wrapped up after an overlong 2.5 hours, I was left exhausted and exasperated.
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I’ve hated this movie from inception; especially when the guy from Shark Tank was revealed to be Chalamet’s mentor? Stay Away from our Chalamet!!!!!😤
Ahah, the Shark Tank guy isn’t his mentor; he’s the husband of an actress Marty’s having an affair with. I have to say, seeing O’Leary took me out of the movie a bit.
Excellent reviews as always. I am honestly very surprised with your rating. Marty Supreme has been one of my most anticipated movies of the year. I’m a huge fan of Timothee Chalamet and consider him to be one of the most promising young actors working today. Love all his movies but “Call Me By Your Name” is my personal favourite. This film has gotten unanimous praise from critics and is a frontrunner at the Oscars. Still, I do appreciate your honesty in your review. I will definitely check this one out but maybe lower my expectations. Don’t want to be disappointed by it. I do love everything Chalamet does so I have a feeling I will enjoy it.
Here’s a list of my favourite Timothee Chalamet films:
Hey Hassan, well we can’t all be in agreement about everything, can we? I don’t always agree with my fellow critics on Rotten Tomatoes or elsewhere. Yes I realize this is unanimously praised, but to be honest, I don’t understand the hype. The characters are thinly written, the female characters are so grossly under-developed, and overall it’s exasperating.
I’m not a huge fan of Chalamet apart from maybe DUNE, but that’s more because of Villeneuve’s directing, not so much his acting per se. I actually find him overrated, as I feel like there are lots of young actors who are more talented and interesting but somehow don’t get nearly as attention, i.e. Josh O’Connor, Jack Lowden, Damson Idris, Tom Bateman, etc. In any case, I do urge you to watch this and form your own opinion 🙂
Thanks for the feedback Ruth. Interesting points about Chalamet and the movie. I guess this just happens to be one of those divisive films that isn’t intended for everyone. Being a big fan of Chalamet, I will definitely check it out regardless. I do love movies that capture the lives of hustlers. Even if this isn’t a perfect movie, I have a feeling I will enjoy it. Will definitely check it out and see if I appreciate it more than you did. Thanks for sharing this insightful review.
By all means watch this one! It’s not a complete bust for me, the ping pong scenes are pretty fun to watch, and it’s rare to see that sport depicted on screen.
Thanks for the feedback. I will definitely check it out. It’s true that ping pong is a sport that has rarely been depicted in movies. The only movie about ping pong that comes to my mind is Forrest Gump. I love everything Timothee Chalamet does, so I’m sure I will enjoy it. Still waiting for it to hit streaming platforms.
I was never a fan of the Safdie’s Uncut Gems, so I don’t have much interest in this film. I still like Timothée Chalamet as an actor, he’s following Leo’s and Cruise’s footsteps by starring in different types of movies in order to be in demand. It helps too that these smaller movies of his are making money for the studios and of course his bread and butter films are the Dune franchise. But once he makes a couple of flops, he won’t be in much demand.
I never saw Uncut Gems, just didn’t appeal to me, and now I understand why as people kept comparing it to this one. It’s just too frenetic and self-important. I think Chalamet is talented but it’s getting to his head and he thinks way too highly of himself it’s off-putting. I mean, it took Leo a long time to finally get major awards but he’d never say puffed-up things about himself, that’s why he has a lasting career like he does. People are starting to be repulsed by Chalamet’s cocky comments and it might cost him the awards he desperately wants.
I just didn’t care for the style of Uncut Gems and it was full of terrible people that I don’t care about, so it wasn’t an entertaining movie to me. Lol.
I don’t follow Chalamet’s online shenanigans but he’s doing what many young online famous people do these days. It’s a different world and they have to do or say obnoxious things to get attention. Look at the two morons, the Logan brothers, years ago, no one would care about who they are but they’re very popular “celebrities” these days. It’s sad what pop culture has become but I think that’s what Chalamet is doing to keep up with the pop culture people his age or younger wants to see.