Marty Supreme (2025)

From acclaimed director Josh Safdie (Uncut Gems, Good Time) comes yet another intense thriller....sort of....THIS time focusing on the trevails of Marty Mouser (Oscar-nominee Timothee Chalamet) who's an aspiring table tennis player working his way up the tournament circuit in the early 1950's.  Of course, his journey towards attempting to become a world-class ping pong athlete becomes increasingly complicated as Marty is so impulsive and selfish that he starts to get in his own way.  What results is a high-wire character study featuring an array of eccentric and/or dangerour characters whom Marty encounters along the way played by a VERY unique cast including Gwyneth Paltrow, Odessa A'zion, Tyler the Creator, Emory Cohen, Geza Rohrig, Fran Drescher, Abel Ferrara, and Kevin O'Leary.  (Yes the SAME Kevin O'Leary from "Shark Tank") 

Host: Geoff Gershon
Edited By Ella Gershon
Producer: Marlene Gershon  

Transcript

MARTY SUPREME - 2025

Directed by Josh Safdie

Starring Timothee Chalamet, Gwyneth Paltrow, Odessa A’zion, Kevin O’Leary, Abel Ferrara, Tyler The Creator, Emory Cohen, Koto Kawaguchi, Geza Rohrig, Pico Iyer, Penn Jillette, George Gervin, Larry Sloman, Sandra Bernhard, Isaac Mizrahi, and Fran Drescher

Genre: Sports Drama (Audio clip)

Josh Safdie (Uncut Gems, Good Time) has directed (sans brother Benny) one of the more balls-out exciting sports dramas of recent years....and the sport in focus is table tennis no less. 😄 And make no mistake that despite NOT devoting at least 80 to 90 minutes runtime (out of 150 minutes total) to the actual sport of ping pong, this is STILL at its core a sports drama about an aspiring athlete driving himself to genuinely narcissistic levels of competitiveness....in the grand tradition of both Paul Newman Hustler movies, last year's (now underrated) Challengers, and Rounders (think about it).

And thanks to Timothee Chalamet's go-for-broke lead performance as Marty Mouser (the titular Marty Supreme), you could ALSO categorize this alongside several of the better "aspiring artists gone mad" films like Whiplash, The King Of Comedy, All That Jazz ,and even kinda Boogie Nights. Marty is an INSANELY driven person - with his drive approaching delusional levels - that I could easily see him sharing drinks with Rupert Pupkin one evening....or a bump with Joe Gideon. 😆

It's an unhinged performance and this early '50's-set globe-trotting tale simply does not work without it. Because believe it or not this movie is at least 20 minutes longer than any of the other films I just mentioned....yes even Bob Fosse's overstuffed All That Jazz (still love it though) with all of its extended musical tangents STILL clocked in at 25 MINUTES SHORTER than this, which is nuts! 🙄 It's already a dead horse at this point but yes, too many films today are simply TOO LONG (even recent standouts like this year's Sinners or 'One Battle could have been trimmed a bit) and even though Safdie's latest opus generally flies forward with an unstoppable momentum, it falls victim to that trend too unfortunately. 🙁

It doesn't hold back the film too much mind you - he's a brilliant director adept enough deliver every setpiece with urgency and danger and even a sense of surprise at some key points. He's got some top-flight talent helping him pull this off including returning editor Ronald Bronstein (Uncut Gems, Good Time) and master DP Darius Khondji (Se7en, Armour, Panic Room, Midnight In Paris). Despite so much chaos occurring on-screen (and often in closed quarters) involving dogs, sea lions (hmmm), bath tubs, cabs, necklaces, etc....it's all crisply shot and we can follow everything pretty fluidly. Just SO many standout sequences where eventually things go awry for at least key players on-screen! 

It's just one of several bravura sequences which eventually lead to madness and I guess that my biggest issue with this film is that there MIGHT be at least two setpieces too many.🙄 Each of them are executed quite well and sufficiently entertaining so I'm not sure WHICH ones should have been cut out but it's just too much - we GET the point about Marty's seemingly fatal flaw by the time we reach the 60 minute mark because it has already demonstrated again and again and again....and it's entertaining and Chalamet keeps it exciting to witness but it just becomes too much. It's hard to fault Safdie and crew because when you're cooking, you're COOKING but directors still need to make tough choices at the end of the day. 

Still overall, this is a near masterpiece with a fantastic climax and a pitch-perfect ending.  This film just feels ALIVE in a way few modern films do - so much immediacy, so much conflict and SO many memorable faces to fill out the screen. 

And those unique faces comprise much of what is a TRULY unconventional supporting cast, many of whom are not regular actors but they still pull off convincing, often eccentric performances. :) That includes director Abel Ferrara as Ezra, an intimidating local wise guy/dog owner, on-screen corporate asshole from "Shark Tank" Kevin O'Leary as industrial big wig Milton (and unsurprisingly he's GOOD at playing an asshole 😄), and even fashion guru Isaac Mizrahi who is a HOOT to watch as an excitable stage director. :) Each of them leave their mark alongside more veteran actors like Gwyneth Paltrow who is simply sublime in a VERY tricky role as legendary movie star/stage star Kay Stone whom Marty sort of develops a doomed romance with. (Her character is married to O'Leary's Milton) 

Best Needledrop (best song cue or score used throughout runtime of film): 

A big part of what makes this film truly work is the aggressive use of music throughout – it’s a canny mix of '80's needle-drops (which strangely don't feel as anachronistic as you would think), '50's needle-drops, and a suitably intense synth score from returning composer Daniel Lopatin.  It’s truly propulsive music and never used better than either of the critical table tennis matches which sorta bookend the film…..with Marty facing off his Japanese rival, Koto Endo played well with no dialogue by Koto Kawaguchi. THIS is rousing stuff for any sport, let alone ping pong. (Audio clip) 

Now I had mentioned that this film had a VERY strong ending and it does…..though I have an issue and it’s the ‘80’s needle-drop which was chosen.  I don’t know…..maybe recycled, on-the-nose ironic needle-drops to close out films are a trend now as PTA recently used “American Girl” for the ending of previous episode One Battle After Another.  Only THIS one stuck in my craw a bit more as I FEEL it was already claimed by a great '80's film with an even better ending, previous episode Real Genius. Though to be fair, just HOW many folks have seen that movie? (Audio clip)  

It works but like I said….SUPER obvious.  You COULD say the same for the opening credits theme which kicks in during a cold opening sequence of Marty getting intimate with his married friend Rachel in the back of the shoe store he works in.  Rachel is played by Odessa A’zion and she’s ALSO fantastic in this.  Now the song….it’s been used a LOT in various media including countless commercials but it does fit this particular moment perfectly as these two impulsive young folks are just going at it with youthful abandon…..especially that synth opening which is just GORGEOUS.  It comes to us from that beloved German synth pop band Alphaville which was formed in ’82 in Munster, West Germany.  As for the ACTUAL opening credits sequence…..it features some unique imagery and let’s just say that my first thought upon seeing this was, “Wow ok…..they’re ripping off Look Who’s Talking!” But no matter because it’s still a suitably bombastic tone-setter for the film – the song is from their debut album of the same name in ’84, “Forever Young.” (Audio clip)   

Wasted Talent (most under-utilized talent involved with film): 

Award-winning Hungarian actor Geza Rohrig plays one of Marty’s fellow table tennis players, Bela Kletzki, whom he also partners with to go on a exhibition tour with the Harlem Globetrotters….doing trick shots with ping pong balls during half-time mind you.  Rohrig’s performance is very key to this film’s opening act and he brings some genuine gravitas as a stark contrast to Marty’s flippancy….his character is apparently a recent survivor of the Holocaust.  And this leads to a holocaust story which Bela himself tells others at a dinner table goaded by Marty – who’s also Jewish – and this leads to the film’s ONE flashback sequence.  This uncomfortable holocaust sequence culminates in an image….let’s just say an image which I KNOW made many in my audience uncomfortable including my daughter who I saw this with.  Now Josh Safdie himself is Jewish and I THINK I know what he was going for with this particular moment….but I’m not sure, it’s a tricky one and I’ll just leave it at that.  One unfortunate side effect of this is that I just hope that this image doesn’t completely overshadow Rohrig as an actor moving forward because his is one of the film’s BEST performances. (Audio clip)  

Trailer Moment (scene or moment that best describes this movie):

My personal favorite has to be an extended sequence at a ping pong hall (I guess....or maybe just a section at a bowling alley devoted to ping pong?) where we watch Marty and his friend/hustling partner Wally (Tyler the Creator in a scene-stealing performance) gradually work over (in the hustling sense) several different marks through several different games. :) It's a masterclass in tension-building as we can see just how good both Marty and Wally are pulling the strings but also how Marty himself just has this pathological desire to keep adding insult to injury. Throughout the film, he just has this uncanny knack for impulsively spouting some of the harshest insults imaginable....to the point where we can even see how it takes HIM by surprise. And we can also see just how easily it could come back to haunt him....

MVP (person or people most responsible for the success of this film):

This is still very much Chalamet's movie at the end of the day and his wiry energy even helps to make cinematic a sport which I had never thought could be cinematic (even after Forest Gump): ping pong. :) Among his young career, this MIGHT even be his best overall performance so far....definitely this or previous episode Call Me By Your Name. As WRITTEN, Marty Mouser is very much an entitled prick who seemingly has a hurricane-like effect on almost anyone else he encounters but ON-SCREEN the actor makes him so compelling that you can understand how easily anyone could get caught up in his wake.  Timo-thee Chala-met is the MVP. 

Final Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5 

As 2025 has now closed out, I can definitely say this is one of THE best films from the past year – all of the acclaim it has received is certainly well-deserved and if I had to rank the Best of 2025 RIGHT NOW….this would currently be in a photo finish alongside ‘One Battle After Another and Sinners, it’s close.  I wholeheartedly recommend DEFINITELY seeing it on the big screen though be warned: it’s two and a half hours of TENSE stuff! 

Now Playing in Theaters

And that ends another FOREVER YOUNG review!