The Echo
“I want to be one of the greats. I’m inspired by the greats; I’m inspired by the greats here tonight. I’m as inspired by Daniel Day-Lewis, Marlon Brando and Viola Davis as I am by Michael Jordan and Michael Phelps, and I want to be up there.”
I thought about that excerpt from Timothee Chalamet’s Screen Actors Guild Awards acceptance speech many times whilst watching Marty Supreme. Considering he had finished filming that movie by the time he was doing awards press for A Complete Unknown, I have to wonder if he was doing stealth marketing a year in advance. Even so, I still would have seen this film, as there were a number of things that piqued my interest.
Benny and Josh Safdie had been building an impressive and impressively stressful resume with Good Time and Uncut Gems before splitting up to work on their own projects, and I found it VERY interesting that each of them had a sports movie coming out in 2025. Benny’s film, The Smashing Machine, was a fascinating effort that I mostly liked. It had a strong sense of style, and Dwayne Johnson was admirably committed to the material, giving a terrific performance. That said, in its effort to sidestep all of the typical sports biopic cliches, it ran into problems with keeping the audience compelled and building to a properly satisfying ending.
Josh Safdie’s film does not have that problem.
Marty Supreme tells the tale of Marty Mauser (Timothee Chalamet), a talented but very brash ping pong player who is looking to become the greatest in his sport. However, when obstacles are thrown his way that prevent him from winning the British Open, he scrambles and hustles his way through New York to figure out a way to make it to his next shot at greatness. Some of the people he collides with on his journey include the following: his childhood friend/sometimes girlfriend Rachel Mizler (Odessa A’zion), his good buddy Wally (Tyler Okonma), retired actress Kay Stone (Gwyneth Paltrow), and Kay’s husband Milton Rockwell (Kevin O’Leary).
Yes, it’s THAT Kevin O’Leary.
This is an unusual film in every respect. For starters, its bones adhere to a classic sports movie structure, but the person we’re following is kind of despicable. He definitely has a charisma to him, but he will throw his friends and allies to the wind if it means he gets closer to his goal. Marty seems to have a very clear motivation, but over the course of the film, it becomes somewhat muddied. We know what his goal is, and it remains intractable, but what’s driving him almost becomes a mystery that we are left to figure out. He is a phenomenal character though, and Timothee Chalamet delivers a titanic performance in the lead role. It is this perfect combination of public persona, fictional creation, and impeccable acting. We shouldn’t like Marty, but by the time he makes his final play for ping pong supremacy, it is impossible to not feel adrenalized by his efforts.
Safdie and casting director Jennifer Venditti have also set up an excellent ensemble, and all of them make a memorable impression. Odessa A’zion gets the most real estate of any of them and more than holds her own against Chalamet. Rachel is a typical New York girl: tough, fierce, and crafty, with the latter quality revealing how much she can keep up with Marty when he is full speed ahead into his schemes. Paltrow, in her first onscreen performance since Avengers: Endgame, brings a lot of class to this material, as a clear adult in the room who cannot help but be pulled in by Marty’s motormouthed ways. O’Leary is shockingly good yet perfectly cast, playing a businessman with bite who gives Marty an opportunity. Tyler Okonma has a terrific screen debut here, and projects a confidence that makes him someone I’d like to keep an eye on in the future. Finally, legendary New York film director Abel Ferrara has a small but pivotal role and provides a real sense of danger and unpredictability that sends Marty Supreme into thoroughly surprising directions. Safdie and Venditti round out the cast with plenty of people who seamlessly fit into this movie’s version of 1950s New York, including a few recognizable faces whose appearance caught me off guard.
In addition to the film’s cast of characters, Safdie injects tons of personality into the filmmaking. He and Ronald Bronstein, his co-writer and co-editor, have created a fantastic vision of post-war America. It feels lived-in and personal, packed to the brim with humor, grime, and danger. On top of that, Marty Supreme has a beautiful handle on both pacing and escalation, as it moves like a freight train, and every time it seems like Marty can’t be any more screwed, there’s always more stress to wring out of the audience. This movie also looks amazing, with each different location having its own personality, thanks to unbelievable production design from the legendary Jack Fisk and textured cinematography from Darius Khondji. The most striking technical aspect of this film, though, is its soundscape. Daniel Lopatin’s score is my favorite of the year, being both completely incongruous with the era and superbly aligned with the film’s vibe. Those anachronistic tendencies also extend to the needle drops, which mostly consist of 80s hits from the likes of Tears for Fears and Peter Gabriel, as well as an inspired use of “Forever Young” by Alphaville. It’s another bold stylistic decision in a film full of bold stylistic decisions, and it is incredibly exciting to watch.
This is the kind of cinema that I find energizing. It’s something so confident in what it is that I cannot help but be taken with it, and it is a remarkable viewing experience. I have already seen it twice, and I cannot wait to keep revisiting it in the coming years. Marty Mauser demanded to not be forgotten, and I think his urging will be rewarded.